Rony Lavan is an ambitious and quality-driven cupper who has spent his career trying to carve out better and bolder coffees from small producers in Peru. While the country is emerging as a specialty market after many years of focusing on bigger lots and certifications, Rony's passion is with identifying and developing the top scores and the best cups. Green-coffee buyer Piero Cristiani met Rony before Piero was buying coffee for Cafe Imports, and the two have not only stayed professionally connected all these years, but they have also become great friends.

As president of the Lima Coffees exporting organization, Rony has already established himself as standing at the fore of microlot-quality coffees in Cajamarca. His first year with Lima Coffees, he entered the national competition and won; with the introduction of the Cup of Excellence competition to Peru in 2017, the country is poised to enter the international spotlight for its finest offerings. Rony and his coffees will be the ones to watch.

Process Method: The vast majority of coffee in Perú is Washed, and many producers own their own wet-milling equipment, though smallholders may also deliver cherry to a central processing unit or cooperative for processing. The coffees are usually depulped the same day they are harvested and given a 12–18-hour open-air fermentation before being washed clean of mucilage. (The fermentation time may be longer in cooler areas at higher elevations.) Drying styles vary in Perú, and coffee may be dried on patios, raised beds, in parabolic dryers, or mechanically.