Coffee In Peru
Would you trek 11.8 miles through the mountains in one day to arrive at a small village just to drink freshly brewed coffee from a coffee farm? Let me share about my trekking adventure to Peru with Women Who Explore.
Now imagine trekking through the Andes mountains. You can smell the crisp air. You hear the crunch of footsteps while on the Salkantay trail. Then you look up to see a 200+ foot waterfall on the mountain side. Suddenly you become aware how the other women you're trekking with are chatting about the incredible landscape around you. But the best thing is, you're excited to finally be arriving at the Peruvian coffee bean farm!
On this particular stop, we trekked through the amazing landscape that is Peru. I picked wild strawberries, and we were able to marvel at Salkantay Peak from afar! This peak sits at 20,551 ft, which is the highest peak in the Vilcabamba mountain range, located in the Peruvian Andes. The trip to Peru was a one-of-a-kind experience and it's so neat to see how the coffee bean fruit is processed from the beginning until we drank the black coffee.
We all gathered around as our guides explained the coffee bean fruit to us. We removed the skin and tasted the fresh bean. Then we helped roast coffee beans that had been previously dried out. We roasted the beans over a wood fire; smelling the fire and the beans roasting while at the same time sharing the experience with the other ladies was so awesome!!
After roasting our coffee beans, we grinded our coffee beans as a team, that was later used to help create our fresh pour over coffee. As we got to sample our freshly brewed coffee, we were also surrounded by the gorgeous Andes mountains. It was an unforgettable moment to be able to savor the flavor of our coffee with such a gorgeous landscape.
If you ever get to go on the Woman Who Explore Peru trip, I truly recommend supporting the locals and buying their coffee beans to bring back home and continue to enjoy Peruvian coffee at home or as I like to say, para disfrutar un cafecito en mi casa.
Krystyna: WWE New Mexico Ambassador & Getaway Host
Krystyna, a native to southern New Mexico and one who loves exploring the land of enchantment through exploring the outdoors and art of photography. By trade she is a mental health therapist, but by heart is an outdoor chica which allows her to bring both worlds together to heal and to provide a safe space for others as well. She is a big advocate of solo hiking and empowering other women to also try solo outdoor activities, with the right knowledge and preparation.
Krystyna first joined Women Who Explore in 2020 and loves to take women out hiking, camping, backpacking, ice skating, bouldering, meet and greets and many other fun events. She is excited to lead international trips where her adventurous heart leads her.
