Three Monkeys, Fine Coffee and Smiles on the Av. de la Cultura

In the City of Cusco, three youthful baristas, charismatic, happy, and filled with energy, look to innovate and improve our traditions of coffee.

From a cup of coffee spring out more than one sensation. From them surge a complete world for which we lack adequate words to describe the changing aromas and flavors.

Neto, Diego, and Ivan are the Three Monkeys in our city who please passersby and lovers of coffee with their well-trained and thoughtful, but fun, way of preparing and presenting a good cup of coffee in the open air. They give a lot to comment about.

One block away from the Real Plaza Mall, on the Avenue de la Cultura, right hand side, in the doorway of the Tacuchón restaurant you will find their elegant tricycle cart with its wheels, brown color, and an Italian Coffee bar on top. There they prepare the whole range of fine coffees to please their clients.

Their innovation and style speak of their passion for coffee. Their small chalk board, with their logo and their tempting offerings, calls the attention of people walking up or down this main avenue. As they say, their goal is to bring a smile to people who see their cart and, especially, who stop to try their delicious coffee from the valleys of Quillabamba and Yanatile. It is from the farms of the young men’s family and neighbors.

The three work with the coffee from its beginning until its end, from the sprouting coffee plants through its harvest and roasting to making a marvelous cup of coffee which makes our mornings rise and opens up our afternoons.

The Monkeys supply some two dozen restaurants and cafes with roasted coffee, while also serving up the final product, that delicious cup, to the public.

The 3 monkeys passionately seek to improve their art and offer the public more quality than has been previously found in the imperial city. They participate in national barista and coffee competitions and are making themselves known, individually and as a team, in the salons of high coffee culture in Peru, all the while they have fun and share that delight with all.

I remember the sunny morning when I drank a cup of Americano alongside the Cuzco Eats team and the 3 Monkeys. I cannot forget their service and attentiveness. They cultivated smiles in us with their dedication and human warmth all the while clouds roamed the skies and people walked by. Some even stopped for coffee and went away happy.

While seated on one of their benches, I watched how they made my much needed cup of caffeine and good taste. I could smell the tempting perfume of their coffee when they ground it to order.

While remembering there the many times I had tried the coffee I realized that coffee is much more than strong or weak, mild or bitter. Each coffee is different in its aroma, flavor, and color. In each coffee house or from each barista the coffee comes out distinct from others. When I tasted the coffee the three monkeys made me, it enchanting, the entire play of monkeys in the cup. My tongue held a taste that was not as bitter as the majority of the coffees I have tasted. It was pleased with the sweetness on my palate even though I had yet to add sugar.

The 3 Monkeys met in the Museo del Café on Espaderos Street. They worked together at the coffee bar and little by little the idea of a coffee cart, a tricycle of coffee, brewed among them.

At the time, they could not find in Peru the kind of cart they had in mind and had to import it, as Ivan said. “For the cart we had to go to Lima. We had in mind that we would just go, get it, and come back. We had to wait two weeks. Every day we had to go to customs and wait. We spent much more than we had planned. It was tiring, but when we had it in our hands—it was real—we were filled with joy. We want to share that joy with everyone who wants to try a good cup of coffee.”

If you want a wide smile and unforgettable cup of coffee, you will find them at the Three Monkeys coffee cart on the Av de la Cultura, one block from the entrance to Real Plaza Mall, from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 10 pm.