High in the hills of San Antonio de Chingama, Lali Guevara and her husband Yoiser are quietly cultivating something extraordinary. As part of the Agua Azul producer group, this young family is building a future rooted in care, curiosity, and craft.
Their farm sits a good trek above their home in the valley—so far, in fact, that they’ve built a small shack on the land to rest and eat lunch during long harvest days. Most of the work is done by Lali and Yoiser themselves, though they bring in 10–15 local pickers during peak harvest. Their commitment to quality is evident in every detail: they renovate the farm regularly, replacing trees every seven years and carefully monitoring each plant for pruning and health.
Recently, they’ve begun planting Geisha, with around 500 trees now in the ground which should give them 1 sack of coffee in a couple of years! But the real excitement lies in a discovery made just a couple of years ago—a natural mutation on their farm that’s become something truly unique.
While walking the farm with our exporter, Pepe, Yoiser pointed out a few Catuai trees with a curious trait: when the cherries were opened, the mucilage inside had a soft pink hue. Neither Pepe nor any of the producers we spoke to had seen this before. We separated the cherries, processed them on their own, and the result? A cup that was just a little brighter, a little fruitier, and a little cleaner than the rest.
We’ve named this varietal Catuai Rosado—or Pink Catuai—after what Lali calls it. (There was a brief moment when we tried calling them Rosalitas, but that turned out to be local slang for babies—so we’re sticking with Lali’s name for now!)
This soft and sweet cup is full of apricot, but with a generous glug of single cream. A little redcurrant on the finish wraps this up, but that lingering sweetness and silky smooth body makes this a cup which will keep you coming back for sip after sip.
- Country: Peru
- Region: Cajamarca
- Producer: Lali Guevara
- Mill: Agua Azul
- Altitude: 1,890 m.a.s.l.
- Variety: Catuai "Rosado"
- Processing method: Washed
Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores
- Clean Cup: (1-8): 6.5
- Sweetness: (1-8): 6.5
- Acidity: (1-8): 6.5
- Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6.5
- Flavour: (1-8): 6.5
- Aftertaste: (1-8): 6
- Balance: (1-8): 6
- Overall: (1-8): 6.5
- Correction: (+36): +36
- Total (max 100): 87
Roast Information
Medium-dark: this should be a nice steady roast, take the coffee smoothly through first crack and you're looking for just up to the first pops of second as you finish, no more.