Peru — Tiburcio Alarcon Finca Pinoyqu SL9 (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🌸 Elderflower • 🍑 Yellow Plum • 🍑 Apricot • 🥭 Dried Mango

DETAILS

• Producer: Tiburcio Alarcon
• Farm: Finca Pinoyqu
• Region: Incahuasi Valley, Cusco, Peru
• Varietal: SL9
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 2,190 MASL
• Size: 200g

INTRO

From Tiburcio Alarcon's Finca Pinoyqu in the Incahuasi Valley — a second expression of SL9 from Datura's Cusco project, this time at 2,190 MASL and with a markedly different character from the Eucalipto Pata lot. Where Nicacio's SL9 leads with blackcurrant and jasmine clarity, Tiburcio's delivers a warmer, fruit-forward profile of exceptional sweetness and depth. In the cup: elderflower, yellow plum, apricot, and dried mango.

THE PRODUCER

Tiburcio Alarcon farms at 2,190 MASL in the Incahuasi Valley — one of the highest and most compelling specialty growing areas in Peru, where extreme elevation, cool temperatures, and slow cherry maturation build the aromatic intensity and cup clarity that define the best lots from this region. Finca Pinoyqu sits 20 metres higher than neighbouring Eucalipto Pata, and the difference in profile between the two lots speaks clearly of the micro-terroir distinctions that make individual farm separations in this valley so compelling.

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 Tiburcio's are among the finest expressions of what it can achieve.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Finca Pinoyqu involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Fully ripened cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness 💧 Flotation — Floated in water to remove unripe and insect-damaged cherries before pulping 🔧 Pulping — Cherries pulped 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 cool-climate dry fermentation is the defining step — the ambient temperature at extreme altitude stabilises the 24–36 hour fermentation without water, building the clean sweetness and layered stone fruit and floral complexity that define this lot while the careful frequent turning during drying ensures an even, consistent result throughout.

THE CUP

A warmly expressive and beautifully sweet washed SL9 from the Incahuasi Valley — elderflower delicacy, ripe yellow plum and apricot sweetness, and a rich dried mango depth that lingers into a long, clean finish. A compelling counterpoint to the Eucalipto Pata lot, and a vivid demonstration of how much character individual farms can bring to this extraordinary variety.

Flavour Notes

🌸 Elderflower 🍑 Yellow Plum 🍑 Apricot 🥭 Dried Mango