A balanced cup layered with notes of blackberry, cherry cola, and milk chocolate. In 2014, our importing relationship with Sustainable Harvest began to blossom after they introduced us to a very young cooperative, Rutas del Inca. Time after time around the table, Aaron (our green buyer) was drawn back to this amazing cup. In 2019, they began a micro lot program to highlight producers in the cooperative growing insanely complex cups called, El Chasqui. Nine producers from across the communities of Cucho and Inguer in the Querecoto District contribute the coffee that comprise the El Chasqui microlot, which is singular in its quality and cup profile. Rutas del Inca considers this coffee to be one of its most nuanced and complex, providing a sensory experience dominated by tropical fruit and subtle floral notes. The name “El Chasqui” refers to the Inca messengers who traversed the lands of the Rutas del Inca farmers, delivering fresh fish and other goods from the coast to the city of Cajamarca. Sustainable Harvest plays a huge role in our ability to continue working with this coffee and we are super grateful. On the cooperative level, they work on improving coffee plantations, increasing production, quality control, application of good agricultural practices, and environmental conservation. El Chasqui is headquartered in the Querocoto District of the Chota Province in Cajamarca, Peru. Typica, Bourbon, Catimor, and Catuai varieties are grown between 1,700 and 2,400 meters above sea level and processed using the washed method.