Peru — Efrain Carhuallocllo El Cerro Gesha (Extended Ferment Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍊 Orange Creamsicle • 🌸 Honeysuckle • 🍵 Rooibos

DETAILS

• Producer: Efrain Carhuallocllo
• Farm: El Cerro
• Region: Corazón de Chirinos, Peru
• Varietal: Gesha
• Process: Extended Ferment Washed
• Size: 125g

INTRO

The final Peru release of the season from H&S — and one of their most popular coffees of last year, returning with another exceptional cup profile. Efrain Carhuallocllo's famed El Cerro Gesha plot in Corazón de Chirinos consistently delivers a cup of genuine complexity and dynamism: juicy and creamy tropical notes up front, leading into sweet florals, and a slightly earthy, tea-like finish. In the cup: orange creamsicle, honeysuckle, and rooibos.

THE PRODUCER

Efrain Carhuallocllo farms El Cerro in the Corazón de Chirinos area of northern Peru — a growing region that has been quietly building a reputation for exceptional high-altitude Gesha lots over recent seasons. His dedicated Gesha plot has attracted attention from roasters who value the balance of tropical fruit character, floral complexity, and tea-like depth that this farm consistently achieves. Sourced through Falcon Specialty, El Cerro represents the kind of long-term producer relationship that brings the best of Peruvian specialty coffee to the international market.

Gesha, first collected from the forests of Ethiopia in the 1930s and brought to global prominence at the 2005 Best of Panama competition, finds compelling new expressions across the high-altitude growing regions of South America. At El Cerro, its hallmark florality and citrus brightness take on a particularly creamy, tropical character — shaped by the extended fermentation and the distinct terroir of northern Peru.

THE PROCESS

The Extended Ferment Washed process at El Cerro involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Gesha cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness 🔧 Depulping — Outer skin removed before fermentation 🧪 Extended fermentation — Beans fermented for an extended period beyond conventional washed timelines, building greater complexity and depth in the cup 💧 Washing — Thoroughly washed after fermentation to remove all residue ☀️ Drying — Dried to optimal moisture content

The extended fermentation is the defining step — by allowing fermentation to continue well beyond the conventional window, Efrain develops the honeyed, creamy sweetness and layered tropical and floral complexity that define this lot, while the thorough washing preserves the clean structure and tea-like finish that make it so dynamic and rewarding.

THE CUP

A wonderfully complex and dynamically expressive extended ferment washed Gesha from one of Peru's most beloved specialty farms — orange creamsicle creaminess and tropical sweetness up front, leading into honeysuckle florality, before settling into a long, earthy rooibos and red tea finish. Rest 40+ days for full development. Full of complexities to explore.

Flavour Notes

🍊 Orange Creamsicle 🌸 Honeysuckle 🍵 Rooibos