Born in the coffee producing town of Huaynapata, Gregoria Miranda has been cultivating coffee for several years since inheriting her 3 acre family farm, Finca Mesapata, in 2005.

She grows only the Bourbon varietal among a few different shade trees, including albizia and pacay. which provide shade and also encourage biodiversity. Her ability to grow the high-quality Bourbon varietal is linked to the extreme elevation of Finca Mesapata, at 2,000 meters above seal level - this is quite high, even for coffee production! As Red Fox Coffee Importers explains how coffee has been able to grow at these altitudes in Peru more recently: "In this case, a warming climate has made it possible to cultivate coffee at such high altitudes. The high altitude also helps minimize instances of pests and diseases, which allows Gregoria to plant Bourbon variety trees. These high-quality varieties have immense potential for high-quality profiles, but are highly susceptible to the pests and diseases that plague coffee production. Those pests and diseases don’t fare well in cooler climates and are less likely to spread to high altitude regions."

Gregoria nourishes her coffee trees (as well as shade trees) with a homemade compost, and has been experimenting in her approach to fermentation while processing. The coffee cherries are selectively handpicked and processed on the farm. After harvesting, the cherries are floated and visually hand sorted before being pulped (having the seeds removed from the fruit). After pulping and a 36 hour fermentation, the coffee is laid on covered raised beds to dry. Raked frequently to ensure even drying, the coffee takes approximately 15 to 20 days to dry. After processing, Gregoria loads her parchment onto mules to be delivered to the nearest road access.

As a member of Valle Inca Group, Gregoria is working organically and, as with every other producer within the organization, is certified as such. She and the other members of the group (approximately 300 in total) benefit from agronomic advice and training alongside pre-financing for various projects at the farm level.