Diego Huillca, Peru
THREE MONKEYS COFFEE
Please tell us a little about yourself:
I’m Diego Huillca from Cusco, Peru. I’m the co-founder and manager of Three Monkeys Coffee, a specialty coffee shop, roastery, and farm-driven project based between Cusco and the Quillabamba region. I work closely with producers from our own farm, Finca La Margarita, which is where my love for coffee and my fascination with terroir truly began.
I entered the coffee industry almost by accident what started as curiosity quickly became a life project. Over the years I’ve grown from working behind the bar to building a company that connects farmers, baristas, designers, and guests through storytelling and sensory experience. Coffee became a way to understand my territory, my culture, and my identity.
This is my first year competing in Latte Art, and winning the National Championship in Peru has been one of the most meaningful milestones of my career. Competing pushed me to understand coffee in a deeper, more disciplined, and more creative way. What motivates me is the possibility of representing my country with authenticity, and showing how memory, landscape, and technique can come together in a cup.
A fun fact: outside of competition, I’m obsessed with design and I create most of the visual concepts for our café, menus, and coffee experiences. I believe coffee is not only flavor it’s art, culture and storytelling.
I’m honored to be here and excited to share a little piece of Peru on the world stage.
What are you excited to do while you are in San Diego?
I’m excited to explore the coffee scene in San Diego and learn from the local cafés, roasters, and baristas who are shaping the culture there. I also love design and architecture, so I’m looking forward to discovering spaces that inspire new ideas for my own projects back home.
Most of all, I’m excited to connect with competitors, coaches, producers, and people from all over the world who share the same passion for coffee. For me, traveling is always an opportunity to grow to see new techniques, new concepts, and new ways of understanding our craft.
And of course, I’m looking forward to enjoying the city, its food, its coastline, and creating memories that will stay with me long after the competition.
What are your interests outside of coffee?
Outside of coffee, I’m passionate about design, architecture, and visual storytelling. I spend a lot of time exploring how spaces, materials, and aesthetics can shape human experience from minimal, Nordic–Japanese inspiration to the textures and landscapes of my own region in Peru.
I also love traveling and discovering new cultures, especially through food. Understanding how people express identity through gastronomy inspires much of the creative work I bring into my café.
Another big interest of mine is building experiences: menus, omakase-style services, brand concepts, and anything that combines creativity, emotion, and narrative. For me, these worlds design, culture, and storytelling are deeply connected to how I live and create, even outside of coffee.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank?
I would like to thank the people who have been part of this journey from the very beginning.
First, my team at Three Monkeys Coffee they are the heart of our project, and their support, discipline, and belief in what we are building have pushed me to grow every day.
I’m especially grateful to Iván Salas, whose dedication and passion for competition inspired me to step into this world; and to Ernesto Solórzano, my partner in our farm and roastery work, who has taught me the value of understanding coffee from its origin.
I would also like to recognize everyone who shared knowledge, feedback, or time during my preparation for Nationals from baristas and designers to friends who encouraged me when the process felt overwhelming.
Finally, I want to thank my family for their patience and unconditional support, and the wider Peruvian coffee community for giving me the strength and motivation to represent my country on the world stage.
