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  • Grains, Coffees, Crops, Beans & Nuts of Peru

Grains, Coffees, Crops, Beans & Nuts of Peru

While very special "pseudo-grains", nuts and beans are part of the Peruvian culture and nutrition since ancient times, they were just rediscovered and gained popularity worldwide in the last few years. The international demand for Peruvian "super-grains" like Kiwicha and Quinua increases steadily, as more health-conscious people notice the extraordinary nutritional value of these products.

Whereas peanuts and Lima Beans conquered the world centuries ago, other native Peruvian products like Sacha Inchi or Tarwi are just on the brink of doing so. And although coffee was only introduced to Peru some decades back, Peru became one of the biggest coffee producers in the world known especially for its organic produced coffee.

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Café Peruano

Grains, Coffees, Crops, Beans & Nuts of Peru
While coffee beans surely didn't originate in Peru, today the country ranks among the top 10 coffee producers in the world and is one of the major producers of organic and fair-trade coffee, so that the aromatic bean just belongs here.

Quinua

Grains, Coffees, Crops, Beans & Nuts of Peru
Today called a "superfood", Quinua played a vital role in the Andean diet for thousands of years. The origin of Quinoa domestication appears to be located in the area around Lake Titicaca. It was an important staple food of the Incas who referred to Quinua as "mother of all grains".

Kiwicha

Grains, Coffees, Crops, Beans & Nuts of Peru
Kiwicha is native to the high Peruvian Andes. Also known as Amaranth, Kiwicha is an ancient crop cultivated for thousands of years by numerous cultures including the Incas. Kiwicha seeds are slightly bigger than poppy seeds and very flavorful.

Sacha Inchi

Grains, Coffees, Crops, Beans & Nuts of Peru
Sacha Inchi, also known as Mani del Inca or Inca Peanut in English, is native to the Peruvian Amazon region and cultivated for centuries. The plant produces star shaped fruits which contain oval and dark brown seeds looking like flat, compact almonds.

Mani

Grains, Coffees, Crops, Beans & Nuts of Peru
Peanuts are believed to be of South American origin and most probably were first domesticated in the Peruvian valleys where archaeologists have found remains of mani dating back 7600 years. Many pre-Columbian cultures as the Moche depicted peanuts in their art.

Tarwi

Grains, Coffees, Crops, Beans & Nuts of Peru
Tarwi is grown in the Andes since ancient times for its edible, spicy bean which was an important food for Andean cultures for centuries. The beans were found in tombs of the Nazca culture and depicted on ceramics of the Tiahuanaco.

Pallar

Grains, Coffees, Crops, Beans & Nuts of Peru
Pallar, known in English as Lima Beans or Butter Beans, are native to Central and South America. Big seeded varieties known as "Big Lima" were domesticated in the Peruvian Andean Mountains since ancient times. The pods contain oval to kidney shaped seeds.
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