Jhenrry Chávez

Ripe cherries are selectively harvested by hand and floated to remove damaged or unripe fruit. Unlike the conventional “ Washed ” method, Incahuasi uses dry fermentation: after pulping, the coffee ferments without water, in its own mucilage, taking advantage of the area’s cool and stable climate. In this lot, fermentation lasted 36 hours.

After fermentation, the coffee is thoroughly washed and transferred to raised beds, where the parchment is turned several times a day to ensure even drying. Drying took place over 12 days, until a stable moisture content of between 10% and 11.5% was reached.

Finally, the coffee is transported to the headquarters of the Incahuasi Cooperative in Andahuaylas, where it is stored at an elevation of over 2,800 meters, under cool conditions with stable humidity, prior to export.

Jhenrry Chávez is the quality manager at the Incahuasi Cooperative and one of the youngest leaders in Cusco’s coffee-growing community. He is a certified coffee taster (Q Grader) and grows his coffee on the 1.5-hectare Huachaqpampa farm in the Hatumpampa area, where he works alongside his wife, Noré Nieve. Jhenrry has been a pioneer in experimenting with anaerobic fermentation and natural processing methods in an area where the infrastructure for this type of innovation is still limited. According to his traceability partner in Peru, in 2025 he placed fourth in Peru’s Cup of Excellence with a natural SL9 lot fermented anaerobically for 5 days.

The Incahuasi Cooperative brings together producers from the Incahuasi Valley, in southwestern Cusco—one of the country’s most remote and highest-altitude coffee-growing regions. Its dry, stable climate results in one of Peru’s latest harvests, which runs from September through December. The cooperative supports producers with agroforestry practices and organic fertilization, and keeps Inca traditions of community work alive, such as the Minka (shared labor on infrastructure projects) and the Ayni (daily collaboration among farmers), which have allowed them to refine their methods from generation to generation.

The variety Jhenrry grows is known locally as Geisha Inca—a Geisha variety that has mutated over decades in the region and was long neglected due to its low yield. Recent genetic analyses identify it more precisely as SL9, a Kenyan selection from the 1930s related to the Geisha family but genetically distinct from the original Panamanian Geisha. Today, Jhenrry is replanting this variety at higher altitudes, with exceptional results. The traceability of this lot, from farm to cup, is managed in partnership with APU Coffee Traceability Peru, our partner in the country.