chocolate, caramel, toasted nuts
AKA the 'eyebrow of the jungle', it's a full-bodied, low-acid coffee with milk chocolate and toasted nut up front and a caramel sweetness that carries through the finish. Scrummy.
Grown on a single estate on the eastern slopes of the Andes, in the high cloud-forest country Peruvians call the ceja de selva. The beans are organically grown under Naturland standards, then size and defect graded at origin.
HOT TIP: rest the beans 7 to 10 days after the roast date for the best flavour.
Ceja de selva translates as "eyebrow of the jungle." It's the name Peruvians give to the high, forested band on the eastern side of the Andes, where the mountains drop away into the Amazon basin. Sitting roughly between 1,000 and 2,000 metres, it's steep, humid country, often wrapped in cloud, with rich soils and plenty of natural shade from the surrounding forest.
Those conditions suit coffee well. The altitude and cool nights slow the ripening of the cherries, giving the beans time to develop their sweetness, while the forest canopy protects the plants from harsh sun. Most of Peru's coffee is grown in this zone, much of it on small family farms and increasingly under organic methods.
Coffee has been grown in Peru since the mid-1700s, and today the country is one of the world's larger producers of washed arabica, known for clean, sweet, chocolate-leaning cups. This lot is washed, meaning the fruit is removed and the beans are fermented and rinsed before drying. That gives a clean, consistent flavour.
