The Essence
Ciclos Café was not born from an average business idea, but from a profound and almost irreverent desire: to take the experience of Peruvian specialty coffee to its absolute limits. We didn't seek to be just another coffee shop; we were born to be a real bridge between professional rigor, non-negotiable passion, and total respect for the producer. Without the producer, there is no cacao, there is no coffee.
Our identity is intertwined with El Cacaotal, a sister project that appears as an "edible library," designed to highlight the sensory map of Peru’s most prominent cacao growers and chocolate makers, finely curated by Amanda.
The Beginning and Resilience
Our joint history began at the end of 2019. Back then, Ciclos Café was a companion to Amanda’s chocolate project. We didn't have large machines; we rented roasters or asked for space in friends' workshops. The moment the world stopped during the pandemic, we, far from surrendering to uncertainty, turned to the root. The pandemic forced us to rethink everything: should we close the small shop and become just a website?
Meanwhile, we received orders for Peruvian coffee and chocolate, and Felipe made the deliveries by bicycle all over Lima.
The answer came in the summer of 2021, after a visit to a friend's farm in the central jungle; upon returning home, the idea began to roast in our backyard.
There, with our first one-kilo Aillio roaster, enveloped in the aroma of coffee, we found the key: Ciclos Café and El Cacaotal had to be in a single ecosystem.
We decided to design a space that would break away from the trendy aesthetic patterns and the minimalism that invades us today, which makes almost all coffee shops look the same. We knew Lima didn't need another cold, minimalist coffee shop; it needed a refuge where sensory perception was the heart and brain of every decision, from the floor at the entrance to the textures, colors, and shapes.
Technical Mastery and Commitment
What followed is the consequence of discipline and knowing where we wanted to go. We inaugurated our current space on July 1, 2021, and since then, the result has been a constant evolution. Today, our 6-kilo Giesen roaster, equipped with an electrostatic filter that reduces pollution by 90%, is the heart of a process that prioritizes the planet as much as the flavor. This rigor has led us to be recognized as the Best Specialty Coffee Shop in Peru, a title we have worn with pride and responsibility for years.
Behind the Cup and Every Experience: Felipe and Amanda
Ciclos Café is the reflection of two lives dedicated to the field.
● Felipe Aliaga, agricultural technician and international trade expert, has forged his palate as a CQI and CVA certified taster in Portland, Seattle, and Lima, respectively. His knowledge comes not only from books but from the two years he lived in the low jungle of Quillabamba, Cusco, between Pichanaki and Villa Rica.
● Amanda Jo Wildey, anthropologist and certified cacao taster, has walked the cacao farms of Ucayali and almost the entire country to understand that chocolate is not just a product, but a social and cultural fabric. Her academic and professional sensory background has given her a much broader perspective in her more than 11 years living in Peru.
Both professionalized themselves in their areas to give back to Peru the much it has given us. Recently, on March 15, 2025, we sealed our personal commitment by getting married in the sacred heart of Ollantaytambo, Cusco, reaffirming that our bond with this land and between us is the energy that moves every bean we roast.
The Invitation
To those who don't know us yet: we don't just invite you to drink a coffee or taste a chocolate. We invite you to close the cycle. A cycle that begins with the sweat of the producer in the jungle, passes through our cutting-edge technology, and ends in a sensory experience that seeks to be unforgettable.
Welcome to the Ciclos Café family. Welcome to the excellence of the real.
Author: Felipe Aliaga - Founder of Ciclos Café
