de Specialitate Corretto, Peru Jaen Huabal Villanueva, Washed, 100% Arabica, 80+ puncte SCA

Peru Jaen Huabal Villanueva Washed Specialty Coffee | Detailed Information and Description

🇵🇪 Origin: South America, Peru, Jaen Province, Huabal District

👨‍🌾 Producers: The Villanueva family (small-scale farmers from Huabal)

🌱 Varieties: Caturra, Bourbon

⛰️ Altitude: 1,700 m – 2,000 m

💧 Processing: Washed

🔥 Roast profile: Espresso / Medium

☕ Tasting notes: Caramel, Brown Sugar, Pear, Quince, Nuts

🍒 Acidity: Low | Intensity: High

🫘 Body: Full, syrupy

📏 Bean size: Screen 17

🏆 SCA score: 80+ points

⚙️ Recommended for: Espresso

⏳ Optimal degassing: 7–14 days from the roast date

📦 Peru specialty coffee available in 200 g, 400 g, 500 g, and 1 kg bags

Peru Coffee: The World's Eighth-Largest Producer, with Potential the Market Is Just Beginning to Discover

Peru is the world's eighth-largest coffee producer and South America's largest exporter of certified organic coffee. But in the world of specialty coffee, Peru has long been an underrated origin—its infrastructure, roads, and access to international specialty markets were lacking. This has changed noticeably in recent years. Regions in northern Peru, especially Cajamarca, have begun producing lots that impress at cuppings and win regional competitions.

The department of Cajamarca, in the north of the country, accounts for nearly 43% of Peru's total coffee production. The Andes run through Cajamarca from north to south and meet the Amazon Basin to the east, creating inter-Andean valleys with diverse microclimates and fertile soils. Coffee has been grown here for more than 200 years—the first crops were introduced in the 18th century.

This lot comes from Huabal District, Jaen Province—one of the areas in Cajamarca with the greatest potential for specialty coffee. Huabal consists of several small villages spread across the slopes of two mountain ranges, at elevations between 1,200 m and 2,100 m. Soil and climate conditions vary from one village to another—some areas are humid, with red soil, while others are dry and warm. This diversity produces coffees with complex, distinctive profiles.

The Villanueva Family: Small-Scale Producers from Huabal

Villanueva is the name of the farming family that produced this lot. Agustina Villanueva and Manuel Villanueva are two small-scale producers from the same family who grow Arabica coffee on plots of about half a hectare each. They live next door to each other and process the coffee together—a common practice in Huabal's small communities.

The Villanueva family has been growing coffee for more than 20 years. The farm's varieties are Caturra and Bourbon—traditional cultivars that, with proper care, produce high-quality coffee at Huabal's elevations. Agustina Villanueva won the regional specialty coffee competition in Cajamarca in 2021—a confirmation that small lots from Huabal can compete at the highest level.

The coffee in this lot was grown at an elevation of 1,700 m – 2,000 m, where high-altitude conditions slow cherry maturation and produce a dense bean with complex sugars and flavors.

Classic Varieties: Caturra and Bourbon

The lot combines two traditional varieties.

Bourbon is one of the two foundational genetic lineages of Arabica—it reached South America from Yemen via Bourbon Island (now Réunion). Bourbon produces sweet coffees with full body and high aromatic complexity. At Huabal's elevations (above 1,700 m), Bourbon develops its sugars slowly and produces notes of caramel and ripe fruit.

Caturra is a dwarf mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil. It is more productive and compact, with well-defined citrus acidity. At Huabal's elevations, Caturra's acidity softens, making way for sweetness.

Together, the two varieties produce a lot with full body (from Bourbon), intense sweetness (from the high elevation), and low acidity that lets the caramel and brown sugar notes take center stage.

The beans are screen size 17—a large, uniform grade that produces an even roast and predictable extraction.

Washed Processing: Clarity at the Heart of an Intense Profile

The Villanueva lot is processed using the washed method. In Huabal, most farmers depulp coffee at home using small depulpers. The beans ferment for 36–48 hours in water tanks, the mucilage is removed by washing with fresh water, and the coffee is dried on patios in the sun for about three weeks.

For a lot with such an intense profile (full, syrupy body and brown sugar notes), washed processing does something important: it preserves clarity. Without it, the caramel and nut notes could become muddled or overlap. Washed processing separates them clearly and gives them room in the cup.

Tasting Profile: Caramel, Brown Sugar, Pear, Quince, and Nuts

This lot is built around sweetness and weight. It is the opposite of an acidic, light, fruity coffee—if Kenya Nyeri is the coffee that wakes you up with acidity, Peru Huabal is the coffee that embraces you with body and warmth.

Caramel is the base note—dense, warm, and lingering. But this isn't the gentle caramel you find in Colombia Cauca or Panama Boquete. Here, the caramel leans toward brown sugar—a toasted, darker sweetness with a slight bitter note that adds depth. It's the note you taste most strongly in espresso, where pressure concentrates everything.

Pear and quince complete the profile with a ripe, fruity sweetness and no acidity. These aren't fresh, tart fruits—they're warm, ripe fall fruits with an almost compote-like texture. Nuts come through in the finish: a dry, warm note that grounds the cup and creates a long finish.

Body is the defining element. Full and syrupy—syrupy not in the sense of “sticky sweet”, but in terms of texture: density in the mouth, weight on the tongue, a coffee you can “feel”. It has the heaviest body in the Corretto range, alongside Nicaragua Maragogype—but while Maragogype is full and round, Peru Huabal is full and dense.

Intensity is high—it's one of the few coffees in the range with above-average intensity. Combined with low acidity, it makes for a cup that hits you with sweetness and weight, not acidity.

How to Brew Peru Jaen Huabal at Home

This freshly roasted lot has an espresso roast profile and is recommended exclusively for espresso. Its full, syrupy body, high intensity, and low acidity make Peru Huabal a coffee that reaches its full potential under pressure.

Espresso Recipe

Dose: 18 g coffee (fine grind)

Yield: 36–40 g in the cup

Extraction time: 25–30 seconds

The shot is dense, with thick, stable crema and intense caramel that dominates from the first sip. Brown sugar comes through in the background, while nuts emerge in the aftertaste as a dry warmth. The texture is syrupy—you can feel the weight of the coffee on your tongue, not just its flavor. In a cappuccino, the full body stands up to the milk without getting diluted, giving you a thick, creamy, substantial cup.

☕ Corretto's tip: For even more body, reduce the yield to 30–32 g (a 1:1.7 ratio). The shorter extraction brings out the most from the brown sugar and syrupy texture. But don't go below 1:1.6—it becomes too concentrated, and roast bitterness takes over.

Choose the Right Grind

Peru Jaen Huabal Villanueva coffee is available from us in our coffee shop as whole beans or freshly ground, depending on how you prefer your order. If you're not sure which grind size is right for you, we've prepared a complete guide to the four grind types—Espresso, Filter, Turkish, and French Press—with parameters, ratios, and practical tips for each. You'll find it in the “Grind Types” tab on this page.