Juan Contreras produced one of the best SL9 lots we cupped this year. His farm sits just below an old-growth nature reserve high in the San Fernando Valley, and is fully organic. In the cup we find ripe nectarine, lychee, and jasmine pearls.
SL9
San Fernando, Cusco
2,333 masl
October, 2024
Hand-picked at peak ripeness. Floated. Depulped. Dry-fermented for 36 hours. Washed. Dried on raised beds until moisture content reaches 10.5%.
ABOUT JUAN CONTRERAS
We discovered Juan Contreras’s coffee while cupping at the San Fernando Cooperative’s lab, and it was one of the most impressive coffees we have ever tasted. The potential of the San Fernando Valley—especially when paired with the genetics of SL9—is extraordinary. There is real truth to the challenges of producing high-quality organic coffee, but we are genuinely excited about the possibilities emerging from this region. Juan’s setup is humble—fermenting in plastic buckets and drying on traditional beds—yet his coffee stands out among those from some of the most advanced and well-funded farms in the world.
ABOUT SL9
Colloquially known as “Gesha Inca,” SL9 is a rare cultivar belonging to the Ethiopian Legacy group. While its exact genetic fingerprint does not currently exist in the database, it closely resembles SL09, which is why we refer to it as SL9. “SL” is in reference to single tree selections made by Scott Agricultural Laboratories in 1935-1939, and slight genetic variations from ancient, less well-identified references are scientifically acceptable. While SL28, SL34, and Mibirizi are the most widely grown cultivars from the SL selections, SL09—and by extension, SL9—remains uncommon in cultivation today.
Pricing Details
FARM GATE (Local ; Parchment)
43.48 Soles/KG
VIA AIR
$23.76/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.