Peru — Gilber Huayllas Llaqta Pata SL9 (Washed)

Tastes Like — 💜 Violet • 🍊 Candied Orange • 🍋 Lemon

DETAILS

• Producer: Gilber Huayllas
• Farm: Llaqta Pata
• Region: Amaybamba, Cusco, Peru
• Varietal: SL9
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 2,380 MASL
• Harvest: November 2025
• Size: 250g

INTRO

A first-year purchase from Gilber Huayllas and his small SL9 garden at Llaqta Pata — at 2,380 MASL, one of the highest-altitude expressions of SL9 that SEY have encountered in the Amaybamba valley. SEY have completely fallen in love with this variety in this valley, and Gilber's lot is the latest confirmation of why. In the cup: violet, candied orange, and lemon.

THE PRODUCER

Gilber Huayllas farms Llaqta Pata at an extraordinary 2,380 MASL in the Amaybamba valley — a remote and extremely challenging location to reach, yet one that produces some of the most beautiful and terroir-expressive SL9 lots SEY have encountered. This is their second year exploring the valley and their first purchasing from Gilber specifically. The altitude at Llaqta Pata is among the highest in SEY's entire Peru programme, and the resulting slow cherry maturation, cool temperatures, and intense mineral concentration build the violet florality, candied orange brightness, and lemon acidity that define this cup with exceptional precision.

SL9 — colloquially known as "Gesha Inca" among local producers — has become one of the most captivating discoveries in Peruvian specialty coffee. Genetic testing by SEY found it closely resembles SL09, a rare cultivar belonging to the Ethiopian Legacy group, originally identified through single-tree selections made by the Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the 1930s. The variety contains no Gesha in its genetic composition, and while SL9 is used as a provisional working name, SEY continue conversations with geneticists and Inkawasi Valley communities about how it should ultimately be referred to. Local names like "Gesha Inca" capture a conversation between lineage, cultivation, and the way producers have always understood their own coffees.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Llaqta Pata involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — SL9 cherries picked at peak ripeness 💧 Flotation — Floated to further remove defects before processing 🔧 De-pulping — Depulped on the day of harvest to preserve freshness and clarity 💧 Wet fermentation — Wet-fermented for 32 hours 💦 Washing — Thoroughly washed after fermentation to remove all residue ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Dried on raised beds until moisture content reaches 10.5%

The same-day depulping and 32-hour wet fermentation are the defining steps — processing the cherries immediately after harvest and fermenting fully submerged in water builds the violet florality and candied orange brightness that define this lot, while the careful raised-bed drying preserves the clean lemon acidity and precise structure that make Amaybamba's SL9 so compelling.

THE CUP

A vivid and beautifully expressive washed SL9 from one of Amaybamba's most extreme and captivating high-altitude gardens — violet florality, candied orange sweetness, and a bright lemon acidity in a cup of exceptional clarity and precision. A first purchase from Gilber Huayllas at 2,380 MASL, and one that makes a very compelling case for many more to come.

Flavour Notes

💜 Violet 🍊 Candied Orange 🍋 Lemon