Uchuñari Coffee, Peru

The Peruvian equivalent to Kopi Luwak coffee, this rare Uchuñari coffee is made from the droppings of free-roaming domesticated coatis, a small mammal native to South and Central America. Like the Luwak, the Uchuñari eat the ripest coffee cherries as part of their natural mixed diet, and the hard processed seeds are later recovered from the droppings around the farm, creating a unique coffee that is exceptionally smooth and naturally sweet, with no bitterness.

Sourced from a small family-run farm in the Tunkimayo region of Peru, the charming story of this coffee began when the farm owner’s son discovered four orphaned coati babies in a cave, their mother a victim of hunting. The baby Uchuñari were brought home, raised by the family as pets, and each given names: Chakira, Sheysi Hugo, Piter, and Quien Soy. Not originally intended as anything other than outdoor pets, these playful creatures developed a natural affinity for eating ripe coffee cherries around the farm, leaving them in similar piles to the famous Kopi Luwak. It was after this that the family had the idea to make Uchuñari processed coffee.

The Tunkimayo farm is currently home to six Uchuñari – of the original four, two eventually returned to the forest, and the other two died of old age, but they left their offspring, who all remain free-roaming at the farm. The farmer gave the same names to the babies of the original Uchuñari: Chakira, Sheysi Hugo, Piter, Quien Soy, as well as Princesa and Michel.

Though this cannot be considered a ‘wild’ coffee like our other animal coffees, as the Uchuñari are near domesticated and friendly with the family, they always roam freely around the farm, able to consume whatever they want – important both for the welfare of the animals and for producing coffee of excellent quality.