Our roots and values

Since 1998, ALTOMAYO has been committed to high-quality organic Arabica coffee from Peru's best growing regions and, with passion and a deep connection to Peruvian culture, is committed to improving the quality of life of over 150 organic coffee producing families.
From the very beginning, Dr. Esmilda Huancaruna Perales, founder and managing director, has made it her mission to promote fair and sustainable coffee cultivation in Peru, based on this solidarity and a clear set of values.

Thanks to this pioneering achievement, ALTOMAYO organic coffee specialties were able to delight the palates and hearts of people in Germany early on, even before organic and fair trade became a trend. Our exceptional Arabica coffee beans come exclusively from certified organic cultivation in the highlands of Peru and impress with their exceptional organic sensory quality, which is reflected in every cup and every sip.

Together with organic producer families in Peru, we are committed to ensuring exceptional organic quality and improving their living conditions.

From Peru directly to Germany

The ALTOMAYO story began in the 1960s in the northern highlands of Peru. At that time, Peru was still unknown in the coffee world, despite producing excellent Arabica coffee. A lack of infrastructure hampered trade in the remote mountain regions and hampered the prospects of small-scale organic farming families.

Dr. Esmilda Huancaruna Perales' family recognized the potential of their homeland early on. Convinced by the sensory quality of Peruvian coffee and driven by a desire to improve the quality of life of the coffee-producing families, they built a trading network with a clear system of values.
Initially, her father visited the coffee producers personally, sometimes on muleback, and established initial partnerships that continue to this day. He began by trading various goods between the highlands and the coast of Peru to provide the local people with the essentials. Over time, he focused on the green coffee trade, after initially working as a laborer on the plantations himself.

This traditional network still forms the basis for ALTOMAYO's organic coffee specialties from Peru and is passionately maintained by the family.

The story of ALTOMAYO begins in 1998.

At the end of the 1990s, Dr. Esmilda Huancaruna Perales, who holds a doctorate in biology, decided to introduce organic coffee to people in Germany, and with it, a piece of the culture of her home country, Peru.

In 1998, she brought the first sacks of organic raw coffee to Berlin via direct import from Peru. From this idea, ALTOMAYO was born – and with it, a connection between its Peruvian origins and coffee enjoyment in Germany that continues to define our brand to this day.

Over 25 years of ALTOMAYO

The organic coffee from the highlands of the Peruvian Andes initially captivated Berlin's exclusive organic scene. But ALTOMAYO quickly gained wider attention, not least through its participation in the UNICEF "Capital for Children" campaign in 1999, in which 2 DM per can was donated to charitable projects.

The early collaboration with the Bio Company in the early 2000s, which continues successfully to this day, not only brought Dr. Esmilda Huancaruna Perales and the brand into the hearts of Berliners, but also made Peru better known among organic coffee lovers in Germany as a producing country for high-quality, certified Arabica coffee.

With our shared commitment and values, we can further promote access to organic coffee from Peru and do good in a sustainable way.

ALTOMAYO since 1998

After launching in Berlin, ALTOMAYO first found its customers within the Berlin organic scene. As early as 1999, ALTOMAYO took part in the UNICEF campaign "Capital for Children," where 2 DM per can sold was donated to charitable projects.

At the beginning of the 2000s, a collaboration with BIO COMPANY also began. This made ALTOMAYO visible to more and more people in the organic retail sector and it continuously expanded its product range over the following years.

Today, ALTOMAYO combines its Peruvian roots with a diverse world of organic coffee – while remaining connected to the origin where it all began in 1998.