Established in October 2013 in Querocoto, Cajamarca, Cooperativa Agraria Rutas del Inca was organized by 33 founding members as a quality focused, organic certified coffee collective. The cooperative exported its first lot in 2014, and has continued producing exceptional lots year over year. Rutas del Inca produces high-quality coffee created by favorable environmental conditions such as temperature, day length, a consistent humidity of 70 to 80%, high altitude, and rainfall. These conditions, combined with a wide variety of cultivars and good management practices—including proper composting, selective harvesting, well-timed fermentation, and solar drying—converge to make up an excellent coffee. The coffee is 100% washed, with 80% of the cooperative members processing the coffee individually at their farms. The coffee is depulped the same day it is harvested, then fermented for 12 to 20 hours depending on the altitude of the farm. Eighty percent of the coffee is dried in solar tents with raised beds, with the remainder dried on covered patios. The flavor profiles of our favorite Peruvian coffees are highlighted by a rich, dessert-like sweetness (think brown sugar, honey, maple) and a mellow acidity. This particular lot from Rutas del Inca also showcases aromatics of rose water, with baked peach and cinnamon in the cup.