This is our second year purchasing coffee from Armando Hurtado. His coffee was one of the handful that opened our eyes to the incredible potential of this variety and this unique place and terroir. In the cup we find remarkable complexity with layers of tropical fruit and florality.
SL9*
Pacaypata, Cusco
2,100 masl
December 2025
Hand-picked at peak ripeness. Floated to further remove defects and de-pulped on the day of harvest. Dry-fermented for 32 hours. Dried on raised beds.
ABOUT ARMANDO HURTADO
Armando Hurtado is a young producer we met during our first trip to Cusco, and his farm is one of the most beautiful we have seen. A waterfall runs through the farm, creating an environment rich in biodiversity and natural beauty. With these surroundings, it is no surprise that Armando follows traditional organic growing practices, cultivating coffee in harmony with the land.
ABOUT SL9
*While this variety’s exact genetic fingerprint is not currently in the global database, its similarity to SL09 supports the use of SL9 as a provisional working name. For now, we refer to it as SL9, as it contains no Gesha in its genetic composition. However, we are continuing conversations with geneticists, as well as with communities in the Inkawasi Valley, about how this variety should be referred to and represented going forward.
Colloquially known as “Gesha Inca,” we had this variety genetically tested last year and found that it closely resembles SL09—a rare cultivar belonging to the Ethiopian Legacy group. “SL” refers to single-tree selections made by Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the 1930s. While SL28, SL34, and Mibirizi are the most widely grown SL selections, SL09—and by extension SL9—remains uncommon in cultivation today. Local names like “Gesha Inca” often reflect history and terroir as much as genetics—capturing a conversation between lineage, cultivation, and the way producers and communities have always understood their coffees.
Pricing Details
FARM GATE (USD; GREEN)
~$28.55/KG
FOB
$31.29/KG
DDP
$33.86/KG
The cost of getting a coffee from cherry to beverage varies enormously depending on its place of origin and the location of its consumption. The inclusion of price transparency is a starting point to inform broader conversation around the true costs of production and the sustainability of specialty coffee as a whole.