About Us

How it all began: From Peru to the world

The story behind our brand begins long before its birth. It goes back several decades, beginning in the 1960s in the mountains of northern Peru. At that time, Peru did not yet have a prominent position as a coffee-producing country in the market. Despite the ideal climate in the mountains for cultivation, the lack of an organized production network and the difficult transport conditions made the trade of coffee beans from the region difficult. However, it was the unique entrepreneurial spirit and passion of the Huancaruna family for coffee that gave this story a new direction and contributed to making Peru a reference for high-quality
Arabica coffee. Convinced of the excellent coffee quality of his homeland, the father of Esmilda Huancaruna, Managing Director of ALTOMAYO, traveled on donkey back, visiting coffee farmers in the Rio Marañón region and thus building a network of small producers. The undertaking was certainly not easy, but driven by the desire to provide his children with a good education, he began to devote himself exclusively to the coffee trade. The 100% Arabica highland coffee soon established itself on the market, and the close collaboration with the
Small farmers became an important source of income for them and their families.

The taste of the Peruvian Andes lands in the cup of the Berliner

In the late 1990s, after completing her doctorate in biology, Dr. Esmilda Huancaruna Perales decided to share some of her culture and history with the people of Berlin. How? Through coffee, of course! After all, she inherited her knowledge and love of coffee from her father. Organic coffee was definitely not the norm in the late 1990s. Nevertheless, in 1998, Esmilda brought the first bags of organic green coffee to Berlin. This was the birth of ALTOMAYO. The vision of offering organic coffee from the highlands of the Peruvian Andes excited Berlin's small, at the time still somewhat exclusive, organic scene. The exceptional sensory quality combined with high
Social and ecological standards throughout the entire production chain have slowly but surely won the minds and hearts of the Berlin population. The business is developing very organically, following the evolution of an increasingly demanding consumer audience.