Peru's first coffee exports, to Germany and England, began in 1887. A British-built railway into the central highlands later opened up Chanchamayo.
Today about 223,000 families grow coffee in 16 regions, and Peru is one of the world's leading exporters of organic coffee.
In Lima, many menus offer café pasado. It is a strong concentrate served with hot water so drinkers can dilute it themselves.
Café pasado
How it's made. A strong, bitter coffee concentrate, sometimes made from instant coffee.1
How it's served. Served in a cup alongside a small pitcher of hot water for diluting to taste. Found on most menus in Lima.
What the record says
- Peru's first coffee exports, to Germany and England, began in 1887.2
- The Peruvian Corporation's completion of the Central (Oroya) Railway helped coffee growing in Chanchamayo.2
- About 223,000 families grow coffee in Peru, and about 2 million people work across the coffee chain.3
- Peru's coffee exports reached US$1.579 billion from January to November 2025, up 54.1% on the year before.3
- Peru ranks among the world's leading producers and exporters of organic coffee, alongside Ethiopia.3
- A 2014 coffee rust outbreak hit 130,000 hectares in the central highlands.2
- The CENFROCAFE cooperative in Jaén groups more than 80 farm associations, and about 92% of its coffee is organic.2
The café pasado source is a 2015 Sprudge article, so current practice may differ. A museum record and a Cuzco food blog on 'esencia de café' returned 403 and were not used. Sources disagree on Peru's organic export rank.
- Origen Tostadores: Go Here For Great Coffee In Lima, Peru · Sprudge, 2015 in the bibliography
- Coffee production in Peru · Wikipedia in the bibliography
- Peru: Coffee exports hit record sales in 2025 · Andina (Agencia Peruana de Noticias), 2026 in the bibliography
