Peru — Candelaria Santos, Tres de Mayo, Caturra (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍒 Cherry • 🍮 Panela • 🍏 Apple

DETAILS

• Producer: Candelaria Santos
• Farm: Tres de Mayo
• Region: San Ignacio, Cajamarca, Peru
• Varietal: Caturra
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,800 MASL
• Harvest: December 2025
• Size: 250g

INTRO

One of the few coffees selected by SEY from northern Peru this season, this lot from Candelaria Santos is also a rare opportunity to work once more with the Caturra variety — a cultivar that played an important role in SEY's sourcing from the very beginning. In the cup, it offers cherry, panela, and apple: a clean, sweet, and refreshingly classic profile.

THE PRODUCER

Candelaria Santos has grown up with coffee. She now tends a small garden of Caturra herself in San Ignacio, Cajamarca — one of northern Peru's most reputable coffee-producing regions — though she has worked on coffee farms from a young age. Candelaria is deeply committed to both the cultivation of her crop and the pursuit of quality at every stage.

SEY do not often source from northern Peru, despite the region's strong standing, and they rarely work with traditional varieties. In both respects, Candelaria's Tres de Mayo lot is a unique and genuinely exciting addition to the offering.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Tres de Mayo involves:

• 🍒 Hand-Picking — Cherry selected at peak ripeness
• ✅ Floating — Floated to remove defects prior to pulping
• 🔧 De-Pulping — De-pulped on the day of harvest
• 🧪 Dry Fermentation — Dry-fermented for 32 hours
• 💧 Washing — Thoroughly washed after fermentation
• ☀️ Drying — Dried on raised beds

The extended dry fermentation period contributes to the coffee's sweet complexity, whilst raised-bed drying ensures even airflow and a clean, fruit-forward finish.

THE CUP

Tres de Mayo is a beautifully balanced cup — the sweetness of panela runs through from start to finish, framed by bright cherry and a refreshing apple-like crispness. It showcases why Caturra, in the right hands, remains one of the most elegant traditional varieties in specialty coffee.

Flavour Notes

• 🍒 Cherry
• 🍮 Panela
• 🍏 Apple