La Perla - Peru

La Perla is full of tropical fruit flavors and delicate aromatics. The first sip reminds us of fresh guava which deepens into notes of persimmon and dried mango as the cup cools. Throughout the cup we see notes of wildflowers with fresh violets being the prominent experience. These floral notes develop into honey with a whipped butter creaminess for a pleasing finish.

Apolinar Arevalo, who owns Finca La Perla, is one of the founding members of the Lima Coffee group. His farm, located at 2000 meters, is one of the highest in elevation for this region. He is constantly experimenting with the details of his fermentation processes and takes careful notes on each lot. His typical process includes a very long, 30 hour fermentation and a slow, 15 days of drying under solar covers.

While last traveling in this area a few years ago, Tony saw long, drawn out drying processes being the norm; partially a result of the commonly misty atmosphere in these villages high up in the Andes Mountains. He believes this is linked to the vibrancy of the delicate notes found so prevalent in coffees from here. Additionally it allows these coffees to hold onto their “freshness” through shipping and storage.