Incahuasi SL9 Variety

Origin

• 🇵🇪 Peru

Tasting notes

Character

• Bright
  30
• Clean
  20

The rugged and remote Incahuasi Valley is home to some of the most unique coffees we buy in South America. When we first started exploring this area with the help of our importing partner, Red Fox Coffee Merchants, we tasted samples from a few farms that stood out for their stunning complexity. We later learned this was the result of a unique coffee varietyVariety (cultivar)The botanical subtype of the coffee plant — Gesha, Bourbon, SL28 — analogous to grape varieties in wine. A major driver of cup character alongside origin and process. that producers referred to simply as "Inca geshaGesha (Geisha)A rare, jasmine-and-bergamot scented variety originally from Ethiopia's Gesha forest, made famous by Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. Routinely the most expensive coffee at auction.." There was certainly a resemblance to other geshas we've tried, both in the plant's appearance and in the cup, but there were also some differences. Genetic testing later revealed that this mystery variety did not at all match gesha's genetic fingerprint, but was most closely related to SL9 — a rarely cultivated variety with origins in East Africa. Though little is know about the origins of SL9, it was studied by plant breeders in the early 20th century and is thought to have been transferred to a research site in southern Peru sometime in the 1950s. From there, it's unclear how this variety spread to a handful of farms across the region. Its popularity is growing, and though not widely cultivated, we have seen more of this variety pop up all over Peru as word of its undeniable cup quality spreads. This lot is a blendBlendCoffees from multiple origins roasted or mixed together for a consistent, balanced profile year-round — the traditional backbone of espresso menus. of SL9 from two neighboring farms, managed by Lucio Luque and Eudis Orosco, near the small town of Amaybamba. We've been purchasing tiny amounts of this coffee from these producers since 2018, and we're excited to finally have enough to share with our single-originSingle originCoffee from one traceable place — a country at the loosest, a single farm or lot at the strictest — rather than a blend of sources. subscribers. What stands out are flavors of ripe strawberry and a range of tropical fruits like mango and starfruit, laced with complex floral notes. Pronunciation: een-cuh-WAH-see