Peru - Cati Simon

Bourbon is one of the most widely known and oldest varietals of Arabica. The varietal was introduced to and named after the island of Bourbon (now known as Reunion Island) by French missionaries from Yemen in the early 1700s. It spread through Africa and the Americas in the mid 1800s. Many varietals today have a lineage tied to the Bourbon varietal. Bourbon is known to have great cup quality but has medium-low volume per-plant production and is susceptible to all of the major coffee diseases.

Caturra is a naturally occurring dwarf mutation of Bourbon discovered in Brazil in the early 20th century. First identified on a plantation in Minas Gerais, it was selected and propagated for its compact size, which allows for denser planting and easier harvesting. By the mid-1900s, Caturra had spread throughout Latin America, becoming one of the most influential cultivars in the region’s coffee development.

Caturra maintains much of Bourbon’s cup potential, clean sweetness, balanced acidity, and approachable structure, while offering significantly higher yields per plant. Its compact stature, however, does not make it hardier: Caturra remains highly susceptible to leaf rust and other major coffee diseases. For many producers, it represents the classic tradeoff between cup quality and agronomic risk.

Pache is a natural dwarf mutation of Typica first identified in Guatemala in the mid-20th century, but it has since taken root across several Andean coffee regions, including Peru, where its adaptability at high elevations has made it a trusted cultivar among smallholder producers. Its compact growth habit allows for tighter planting density and easier farm management in the steep, terraced landscapes common to Peru’s coffee-growing zones.

In the cup, Peruvian Pache often reflects the hallmarks of its Typica lineage: clean sweetness, gentle florality, and a rounded, balanced acidity. While yields are moderate, the variety shares Typica’s susceptibility to leaf rust and other major coffee diseases, making careful farm-level management essential. Even so, Pache remains a meaningful part of Peru’s varietal mix, valued for its approachable cup profile, reliable performance at altitude, and roots in Latin America’s broader genetic heritage.

This coffee is fully-washed in the traditional Peruvian method. The coffee is harvested ripe, de-pulped upon arrival to the wet-mill and fermented for around 12 hours. The coffee is slowly dried on patios during the morning and early evening and covered during mid-day to protect from the strong sun and overnight to protect from mist and dew.

Rioja, Peru lies in the upper Mayo River basin of the San Martín region, where humid mountain forests, steady cloud cover, and elevations between 1,200 and 1,700 meters create a cool, slow-ripening environment ideal for Arabica cultivation. Coffee production expanded here through the 20th century, driven by smallholder communities planting Bourbon, Caturra, Typica, and more recently, Catimor-line varieties adapted to the zone’s high humidity and disease pressures. Well-structured alluvial soils, dense shade canopies, and a pronounced wet–dry rhythm support controlled cherry maturation and clean fermentation.

Coffees from Rioja typically show high aromatic lift and bright, malic-to-citric acidity, balanced by a lighter–medium body and flavor profiles that skew toward yellow fruits, florals, panela-like sweetness, and a gently herbal or tea-like finish. The region’s combination of Andean foothill climate and careful smallholder processing produces lots that are expressive, sweet, and increasingly recognized in Peru’s specialty landscape.