Peru — Carlos Saenz Machay Pata SL9* (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🥭 Mango • 🌸 Jasmine • 🍈 Lychee

DETAILS

• Producer: Carlos Saenz
• Farm: Machay Pata
• Region: Amaybamba, Cusco, Peru
• Varietal: SL9
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 2,000 MASL
• Harvest: November 2025
• Size: 250g

INTRO

A first-year purchase from Carlos Saenz at Machay Pata — part of SEY Coffee's ongoing and deepening exploration of the Amaybamba valley, a region so remote it is extremely difficult to access, yet producing some of the most compelling expressions of SL9 and high-altitude Cusco terroir they have encountered. The coffees from this area have been extraordinary this season. In the cup: mango, jasmine, and lychee.

THE PRODUCER

Carlos Saenz farms at Machay Pata in Amaybamba — a small town in the Cusco region of Peru surrounded by a valley that SEY have been captivated by since first exploring it last season. The difficulty of access has kept this region largely unknown in the specialty market, which makes the quality consistently emerging from its producers all the more remarkable. This is SEY's second year in Amaybamba and first year purchasing from Carlos specifically — and one they are already looking forward to returning to.

SL9, colloquially known as "Gesha Inca" among local producers, has become one of the most intriguing discoveries in Peruvian specialty coffee. SEY had the variety genetically tested and 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. While SL28 and SL34 became foundational to Kenyan production, SL09 remained uncommon in commercial cultivation. The variety contains no Gesha in its genetic composition, and while SL9 is used as a provisional working name, SEY are continuing conversations with geneticists and Inkawasi Valley communities about how it should ultimately be referred to and represented. Local names like "Gesha Inca" reflect a conversation between lineage, cultivation, and the way producers have always understood their own coffees.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Machay Pata involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — 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 — Fermented in water 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 32-hour wet fermentation is the defining step — a precise, submerged process that builds the aromatic complexity and vivid tropical and floral character that define this SL9, while the same-day depulping and careful raised-bed drying preserve the exceptional clarity and clean, structured finish that make Amaybamba's coffees so compelling.

THE CUP

A vivid and captivating washed SL9 from one of Peru's most remote and extraordinary growing valleys — mango sweetness, jasmine florality, and a lychee brightness that speaks clearly of the extraordinary terroir of Amaybamba and the rare, almost-lost East African lineage behind every cup. A first and very promising chapter from Carlos Saenz at Machay Pata.

Flavour Notes

🥭 Mango 🌸 Jasmine 🍈 Lychee

*SL9's exact genetic fingerprint is not currently in the global database, but its similarity to SL09 supports its use as a provisional working name. It belongs to the Ethiopian Legacy group and is colloquially known as "Gesha Inca" in Peru. SEY are continuing conversations with geneticists and local communities about how this variety should be referred to going forward.