Peru AYACUCHO from the British roaster Square Mile is a filter coffee that calls for a leisurely morning, your favorite mug, and a moment of peace. The flavor profile is built mainly on notes of golden raisins and peach compote, so expect a sweet, juicy, and pleasantly warming cup with bright acidity and a gently full body. Square Mile describes it as the ideal coffee for a light morning brew—exactly the kind of filter coffee you’ll want to come back to.
Behind this lot is the Ayacucho Collective, a cooperative of 16 coffee-growing families from the mountains of the Ancco region in southern Cusco, Peru, overlooking the Apurímac River valley. They carry on long Andean farming traditions, including the principle of “ayni,” or mutual aid and collective work. Simply put: today I help you, tomorrow you help me. It is precisely this cooperation that forms the foundation of local communities and the way coffee is produced. The coffee is a blend of Typica and Bourbon varieties, two traditional Arabicas often associated with a clean, elegant, and sweet flavor profile. In this lot, they beautifully enhance the compote-like fruitiness, raisin-like sweetness, and delicate body. The farms are rich in native shade trees and fertile volcanic soil, which helps the coffee plants thrive and supports the quality of the cherries. Harvesting takes place from May to September.
Processing is done using the washed method, which plays an important role in this coffee. The washed process typically allows the clarity, distinctness , and balance of flavors to shine through , and here it helps keep the cup bright, sweet, and smooth. Thanks to this, the notes of peach compote and raisins aren’t lost in heavy fermentation but come across as clear and pleasant. Square Mile describes Ayacucho as a sweet, rich, and soothing filter coffee, which is their only coffee from Cusco, Peru, this year.