This is our first year working with Gilber Huayllas and his small SL9* garden at extremely high altitudes in the Amaybamba valley. In the cup we find violet, candied orange, and lemon.
SL9*
Amaybamba, Cusco
2,380 masl
November 2025
Hand-picked at peak ripeness. Floated to further remove defects and de-pulped on the day of harvest. Wet-fermented for 32 hours. Washed. Dried on raised beds until moisture content reaches 10.5%.
ABOUT GILBER HUAYLLAS
We have completely fallen in love with the SL9* variety, specifically grown in the valley around the town of Amaybamba. This valley is extremely challenging to get to, and yet it produces some of the most beautiful expressions of the terroir and characteristics of this unique variety. This is only our second year exploring this valley and our first purchasing coffee from Gilber Huayllas. We cannot wait to return.
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)
$23.12/KG
FOB
$29.72/KG
DDP
$32.98/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.