Who is Winkler Tapia? 

Winkler Tapia is a 3rd generation coffee producer from Lonya Grande, Amazonas. He is continuing the tradition and legacy fo his family, cultivating coffee to new quality levels after being immersed in it since he was a child. He now manages the entire lot and process of growing and selling the coffee. 

About Winkler and Los Orquideas

Las Orquídeas is located in the Lonya Grande district, within the Utcubamba province of Amazonas region, around 1700-1750 metres above sea level. The farm spans 3 hectares of land, and while coffee is the primary crop, Winkler also cultivates other products that diversify the farm's production. 

Winkler employs agroforestry systems at the farm combining native tree and plant species specifically designed to conserve water an provide shade to the plants. In recent years, the region has suffered from many droughts and the deeply rooted trees installed have been crucial for the soil retaining moisture needed throughout the harvests.

How was the coffee processed?

Winkler applies an innovative and precise approach which he learns from fellow friend and peer, Marcos Hererra and the Procecam cooperative community. 

He starts by only picking ripe cherries of a single maroon colour and ensure that the colour is uniform before measuring the Brix level which he wants to be between 18-25.

Once picked and the Brix level matches to his desired level, he places the cherries in a hermetically sealed tank for 100 hours to begin the anaerobic fermentation. This is where Winkler believes the sweetness and complexity is enhanced and has been experimenting over the last few years with the optimal fermentation for his coffee.

After the cherries are taken from the tank they are washed and placed in solar dryers with different bed levels and dried for 25 - 30 days to make sure the drying is slow and uniform across all the cherries. The beans are then stored in Ecotact bags until ready for milling.

What Winkler wants you to know

Winkler’s commitment to producing exceptional coffee is rooted in his lifelong experience with coffee and the willingness to learn and experiment with innovative processing methods.

Winkler wants to make sure that his coffee reaches the expectations of the buyers looking for floral and fruity notes and eagerly awaits feedback so that he can look to develop his ever evolving cultivation and processing methods. He is committed to preserving his great-grandparents land by employing regenerative agriculture practices, from fertiliser use to farm design. 

How does Khipu Coffee know the producer?

We met WInkler through Marcos Herrera and cupped with both of them when we visited Lonya Grande in August 2023. They are both part of the Procecam Cooperative but also work independently. Since then we have kept in touch and were really impressed with the quality jump in his Geisha from the last harvest. 

Khipus' thoughts on developing this relationship

We have a lot of trust in the producers from Lonya Grande and we hope Winkler can become another trusted supplier for many harvests, similar to Marcos Herrera and Roiber Becerra. Winkler and Marcos are also part of a project for us creating community lots from their neighbours and from the early results they are promising. 

VARIETAL: Geisha
PROCESSING: Anaerobic & Extended Fermentation Natural
ALTITUDE: 1700 - 1750 meters above sea level
OWNER: Winkler Tapia
SUBREGION/TOWN: Lonya Grande, Utcubamba, Amazonas
HARVEST MONTHS: August - October

Information and pictures kindly supplied by Mark at Khipu