Nuevo Progreso SL9 | Peru

Peru — Lucio Luque Nuevo Progreso SL9 (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍑 White Peach • 🥭 Mango • 🍋 Lemonade

DETAILS

• Producer: Lucio Luque (Incahuasi Cooperative)
• Farm: Nuevo Progreso
• Region: Amaybamba, Incahuasi Valley, Cusco, Peru
• Varietal: SL9
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 2,230 MASL
• Size: 200g

INTRO

From Lucio Luque's Nuevo Progreso farm on the slopes of Choqesafra in the Incahuasi Valley — a Cup of Excellence multi-placing producer at one of the Amaybamba region's most extraordinary growing sites. Aromatic and intensely sweet, with the clarity and precision that only extreme altitude and immaculate processing can deliver. In the cup: white peach, mango, and lemonade.

THE PRODUCER

Lucio Luque is a member of the Incahuasi cooperative, situated on the slopes of Choqesafra — the mountain that gives the remote Incahuasi Valley its name, and one of the highest and most compelling coffee-growing sites in all of Peru. Nuevo Progreso farms at an astounding 2,230–2,250 MASL, where cold nights fed by meltwater from a nearby glacier keep temperatures consistently low and cherry maturation exceptionally slow. The resulting fruit builds a higher sugar concentration than almost any other producing site in the country, and the rich volcanic soil adds a depth and mineralité that runs through every cup.

All processing takes place at the farm itself — a deliberate choice that gives Lucio complete control over every stage from cherry to parchment. That control is evident in the results: multiple high placements at the Cup of Excellence, including a second-place finish in 2019, have established Nuevo Progreso as one of Peru's most respected addresses for high-altitude specialty coffee.

SL9 — the variety behind this lot — has become one of the most captivating discoveries in Peruvian specialty coffee. Long cultivated in the Incahuasi Valley as "Inca Gesha", genetic analysis has revealed its close relationship to SL-09, a rare Kenyan selection developed by the Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the 1930s. At 2,230 MASL in Amaybamba, its aromatic intensity and exceptional cup clarity find their fullest expression.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Nuevo Progreso involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness 🔧 Depulping — Outer skin removed on the farm 🧪 Fermentation — Beans fermented under the stable cool conditions of 2,200+ MASL 💧 Washing — Thoroughly washed after fermentation to remove all residue ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Dried on raised beds to optimal moisture content

The stable, cool-altitude conditions throughout fermentation and drying are the defining factor — at over 2,200 MASL, the ambient temperature provides a naturally precise and consistent environment that translates directly into the clarity, sweetness, and precision that have made Nuevo Progreso's lots so consistently exceptional.

THE CUP

An aromatic, intensely sweet, and deeply expressive washed SL9 from one of Peru's most decorated high-altitude producers — white peach, mango, and lemonade in a cup of extraordinary clarity and elegance. Lucio Luque's Nuevo Progreso at its most compelling.

Flavour Notes

🍑 White Peach 🥭 Mango 🍋 Lemonade