Finca La Tuna - Peru

Finca La Tuna - Peru 

Apricot, Lemon Meringue, White Grape

Producer: Arnulfo Cueva
Country: Peru
Region: Dos de Mayo, Jaen, Cajamarca
Variety: Caturra

Arnulfo Cueva is a producer from the community of Dos De Mayo in the Jaen province of Cajamarca. Arnulfo’s small 1 hectare Finca La Tuna sits at 2031 metres above sea level in the highlands of Jaen, and he is one of several farmers collaborating as members of the Aromas del Valle co-operative. We have also sourced another coffee from the co-operative, Finca El Eucalipto, which has been processed as an extended fermentation washed is the sweeter, red fruit companion to this bright, yellow fruit coffee from Finca La Tuna.

 The farm’s name is not, as we English speakers might mistake, a nod to the fish but instead ‘tuna’ is the Name for the fruit of the prickly pear cactus. Found in shades of green, yellow, or deep red (which you can see on the coffee label) the prickly pear has juicy flesh dotted with edible seeds. It is mildly sweet, with a flavour somewhere between a watermelon and bubblegum.

The region of Jaen is a tropical rainforest that has a warm climate all year round. The city of Jaen, taking the same name as the region, is considered as one of the hottest cities in the country. The hot weather is compensated by frequent and refreshing rains throughout the year but mostly concentrated in the months of December to March. The region has a great potential and several tourist attractions that include protected reserves, archaeological sites, and beautiful natural landscapes.

Ripe cherries are floated to further select the densest (highest quality) cherries for processing. The cherries are then fermented for 60 hours, which increases sweetness and body before being pulped (mechanically squeezed to remove the seeds from the fruit flesh) and washed. The coffee is then dried on raised African beds under solar drying tent for 16 days.

The Aromas del Valle co-operative have been providing training on fermentation in recent seasons as a way to increase cup complexity and the value added to farmers' coffee, with this coffee demonstrating the benefits through increased sweetness and mouthfeel.

This coffee from the Finca La Tuna is like a bright spring morning, with lots of light, crisp notes balanced out by the increased sweetness from the extended fermentation. Stone fruit notes are the present from hot through to cool, with fresh apricot deepening towards apricot jam once cool. This coffee has a lot of brightness, with malic, tartaric and citric acidities all playing a part, reflected in the stone fruit, white grape, and lemon notes respectively. The increased texture from the processing means the lemon note cools to present more as lemon meringue.

Grind: If you need your coffee ground, select on the dropdown. Let us know in the "Special Instructions" if there is any other specific brew method you need the coffee ground for.