Cajamarca

Cajamarca is where Peru’s best coffee comes from, at least by the scorecards. In the north of the region, around Jaén and San Ignacio, smallholders grow high-altitude arabica that has won five of the eight national Cup of Excellence competitions, and the region now ships about half of Peru’s coffee exports.

The short version

• About 22% of Peru’s coffee (USDA); about half its exports in 2026.
• Jaén and San Ignacio, in the north of the region.
• Five of eight Cup of Excellence winners, including 2024’s at 90.54.
• High farms, up to about 2,300 m.
• Harvest April–September; rain at picking time is the main risk.

What does Cajamarca coffee taste like?

Cajamarca is Peru’s speciality-coffee showcase. After the leaf rust outbreak, its growers turned to new varieties, and areas such as San Ignacio, Jaén and Chirinos now lead with highly differentiated coffees, micro-lots and new processing methods, the importer Sustainable Harvest says. The competition results bear it out:

Year	Winner	Farm	Coffee	Score
2024	Miguel Padilla Chinguel	El Mirador, La Coipa, San Ignacio	Geisha and Bourbon	90.54
2022	Blanca Flor Córdova Jiménez	La Bola, San Ignacio (1,870 m)	Geisha	90.39
2017	Juan Heredia	Cajamarca	Not given	Sold 328 kg for about US$71,000

Sources: Agraria.pe; El Peruano.

By 2024 Cajamarca had won five of the eight Peruvian Cup of Excellence competitions held since 2017, the organisers said.

Where is it grown?

Mostly in the provinces of Jaén and San Ignacio, in the north of the region, in districts such as Chirinos and La Coipa. Jaén is the region’s coffee centre, home to the laboratories where speciality coffees are cupped, evaluated and selected by independent juries. The farms run high: the 2022 champion grew at 1,870 metres, and Sustainable Harvest visited a young Caturra farm at 2,300 metres in Querocoto.

How much coffee does it grow?

About 22% of Peru’s production, USDA says, which makes it the biggest region. The agriculture ministry’s 2024 figures put it just behind San Martín, at 76,700 tonnes of parchment coffee against 81,800. But Cajamarca leads in exports: between January and August 2026 it supplied about 50% of the value and volume of Peru’s coffee exports, according to an analysis by the economist Fredy Cerdán.

When is it harvested?

Peru’s harvest runs from April to September, peaking in June and July, USDA says. Cajamarca’s biggest risk is heavy rain during the harvest, so growers need good drying infrastructure to protect quality, according to Sustainable Harvest.

Cajamarca and other Peruvian origins

• Coffee in Peru: the whole country, its harvest and its organic coffee.
• San Martín: the region that grows the most, by the ministry’s count.
• Junín: the old heart of Peruvian coffee, in the Selva Central.