Gilber Huayllas Llaqta Pata - Anaerobic Washed SL9 - Peru

Peru — Gilber Huayllas Llaqta Pata SL9 (Anaerobic Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍊 Mandarin Orange • 🌿 Earl Grey • 🍑 Peach • 🍮 Hachiya Persimmon

DETAILS

• Producer: Gilber Huayllas
• Farm: Llaqta Pata
• Region: Inkawasi, Cusco, Peru
• Varietal: SL9
• Process: Anaerobic Washed
• Altitude: 2,380 MASL
• Size: 227g / 8oz

INTRO

This lot from Llaqta Pata arrives with a remarkable backstory. Moonwake originally purchased the third-place Cup of Excellence lot from Gilber Huayllas — but it was lost in transit by FedEx and deemed unrecoverable. Through the generosity of their partners, a later harvest from the very same CoE plot was secured in its place, processed using the exact same method. Fortunately, the SL9 that arrived retained very similar qualities to the original award-winning lot.

Grown at an extraordinary 2,380 MASL in Inkawasi, Cusco, this is an exceptionally clean expression of a varietal that competes with the very best coffees in the world.

THE PRODUCER

Gilber Huayllas farms at Llaqta Pata — meaning "High City" in Quechua — one of the highest-elevation coffee farms in the Cusco region, overlooking the Choquesafra mountain in the Peruvian Andes. Gilber has placed multiple times in the Peru Cup of Excellence, and his dedication to the land draws on both generations of farming knowledge and the deep environmental connection of his Incan heritage.

SL9 — colloquially known as "Inca Gesha" in Peru — was long believed to be related to Ethiopian Gesha. Genetic testing by Lance Schnorenberg of SEY Coffee and Christophe Montagnon of RD2 Vision found it is instead a very close match to SL-09 from Kenya. Debate remains, as Peruvian farmers continue to use the Inca Gesha name and the genetic match is not exact — but SL9 is now the broadly adopted designation in specialty coffee. Whatever the name, at elevations like Llaqta Pata's, it produces a flavour profile of extraordinary complexity and elegance.

THE PROCESS

The Anaerobic Washed process at Llaqta Pata involves:

• 🍒 Selective Harvest — Ripe cherries hand-picked at peak maturity
• ❄️ Low-Temperature Anaerobic Fermentation — Whole cherries fermented for 12 hours at low temperature inside grainpro bags, preserving delicate aromatics
• 🔧 Depulping — Cherries mechanically depulped after initial fermentation
• 💧 Water Fermentation — Depulped coffee undergoes a further 12-hour fermentation submerged in water
• ☀️ Raised Bed Drying — Dried on raised beds for 20 days to a stable moisture level

The two-stage fermentation at low temperature is key to this lot's exceptional clarity — it develops the SL9 variety's florality and malic acidity without introducing unwanted fermentation notes.

THE CUP

The cup opens with sweet mandarin orange layered with delicate Earl Grey-like florals — immediately reminiscent of an elegant Gesha. As it cools, a dense peach sweetness takes over, evoking the vibrant stonefruit character of top Kenyan coffees. The body is silky, weighty, and uniquely custard-like — reminiscent of ripe hachiya persimmon. Remarkably clean; a showcase of terroir with outstanding clarity.

Flavour Notes

• 🍊 Mandarin Orange
• 🌿 Earl Grey
• 🍑 Peach
• 🍮 Hachiya Persimmon