Peru — Eudis Orosco Finca Bella Vista SL9 (Washed)

Tastes Like — 💜 Lilac • 🍑 White Peach • 🌸 Honeysuckle • 🍵 Bergamot

DETAILS

• Producer: Eudis Orosco
• Farm: Finca Bella Vista
• Region: Incahuasi Valley, Cusco, Peru
• Varietal: SL9
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 2,230 MASL
• Size: 200g

INTRO

From Eudis Orosco's Finca Bella Vista — the third and highest of Datura's Incahuasi Valley SL9 trio, sitting at 2,230 MASL. A distinctly more floral and perfumed expression than its neighbours, with a pre-fermentation step in GrainPro bags that sets it apart in process as well as profile. In the cup: lilac, white peach, honeysuckle, and bergamot — intensely aromatic, delicate, and refined.

THE PRODUCER

Eudis Orosco farms at 2,230 MASL in the Incahuasi Valley — the highest of the three Datura SL9 farms, and the one whose profile most clearly reflects the extraordinary aromatic intensity that extreme altitude can unlock in this variety. Finca Bella Vista sits 40 metres above Finca Eucalipto Pata and 40 metres above Finca Pinoyqu, and the difference in elevation is apparent in the cup — a more pronounced florality and delicate perfumed complexity that speaks clearly of slower cherry development and greater aromatic concentration at altitude.

SL9 remains one of the most intriguing and historically mysterious varieties in specialty coffee — cultivated for generations in the Peruvian Andes as Inca Gesha before genetic analysis by Dr. Christophe Montagnon at RD2 Vision revealed a strong connection not to Gesha but to SL-09, an almost-lost Kenyan selection developed by the Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the 1930s. How this East African lineage arrived in Peru remains unclear, but what is certain is that SL9 represents the rediscovery and evolution of a variety that quietly survived for decades at altitude in Cusco — and that lots like Eudis's are among the finest expressions of its potential.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Finca Bella Vista involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Fully ripened cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness 💧 Flotation — Floated in water to remove unripe and insect-damaged cherries before pre-fermentation 🌿 GrainPro pre-fermentation — Whole cherries pre-fermented in sealed GrainPro bags under cool conditions for 48 hours before depulping 🔧 Pulping — Cherries depulped after pre-fermentation into clean fermentation tanks 🧪 Dry fermentation — Fermented without water in their own mucilage for 24–36 hours, stabilised by the cool climate at 2,200 MASL 💧 Full washing — Thoroughly washed after fermentation to remove all residue ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Dried on raised beds, turned 5–6 times daily, for 10–12 days until reaching a stable moisture level of 10–11.5%

The 48-hour GrainPro pre-fermentation is the defining step that sets this lot apart from the other Incahuasi Valley SL9s — by fermenting the whole cherry in sealed bags before depulping, Eudis builds an additional layer of aromatic complexity and floral intensity into the bean that contributes directly to the lilac and honeysuckle character that defines this cup, before the dry fermentation and careful washed processing preserve the clean, elegant structure throughout.

THE CUP

The most intensely aromatic and perfumed of Datura's Incahuasi Valley SL9 trio — lilac and honeysuckle florality of extraordinary delicacy, white peach sweetness, and a refined bergamot citrus note in a clean, elegant cup that reflects both the extraordinary altitude of Finca Bella Vista and the unique pre-fermentation approach Eudis brings to this remarkable variety.

Flavour Notes

💜 Lilac 🍑 White Peach 🌸 Honeysuckle 🍵 Bergamot