Peru: Roiber Becerra, Anaerobic Washed

This is a sweet delight of milk chocolate with hints of caramel and biscuit. Sweet and silky like single cream, but with a hint of red berries balancing it out on the finish.

This Peruvian coffee really shone during a cupping with our friend Mark from Khipu and we just had to buy it. We’re very excited to share with you this Anaerobic Washed Bourbon coffee from the wonderfully skilled Roiber Beccera at Finca Morales.

Cielo Color Panza de Burro

On the eastern slopes of the Andes, the steep valleys of the Utcubamba province straddle the Río Utcubamba. Its lush, mountainous landscape is known for deep river gorges, rugged terrain, and rich biodiversity. The local climate is notably tropical in the lower valleys with high temperatures and humidity, but coffee plants can thrive at higher altitudes where the weather cools to an average 16-20°C. The area, referred to as the Land Of The Clouds if you’re feeling a bit touristy, experiences a distinct rainy season from January to May where rainfall averages approximately 1300mm annually.

This environment is perfect for energetic plant growth (it is the Amazonas region after all!) but tricky for specialty coffee production. Heavy rains most afternoons during flowering and fruiting months can knock the crop off the branches, or cause fruit remaining on the tree to split and spoil before maturation. Even during the drier harvest season, the relatively high humidity still proves a challenge during processing. Avoiding uneven drying requires a high level of dedication and skill, the elegance and nuance we see in the processing here is especially noteworthy.

A First For Ozone

Most of our Peruvian coffees to date have come from the Cajamarca region - from three villages near the town of Jaen. Finca Morales is the first farm we’ve sourced from in the Amazonas region. We met Mark (a Liverpudlian with Peruvian family) a couple of years after he started his importing business, Khipu, in 2020. By then we were already sourcing our own single origin coffees direct from Peru, so we hadn't had any coffees from him and were waiting for the right opportunity - which is finally here. Mark came to cup his new harvest with us and two lots stood out on the table for us immediately. They were both from the same producer, Roiber Berccera. These were also tiny lots from a very small farm, as well as coming from a village and region we've never been to, so we decided we just couldn't pass these up.

Roiber’s Approach

Roiber Becerra is a young, dedicated coffee producer from the village of Nuevo Belen, in the Lonya Grande District, part of the Utcubamba Province, in the Amazonas Region of Peru. On his farm, Finca Morales, he mainly grows Geisha and Marshell alongside Bourbon, Caturra, and Obata. Roiber belongs to a new generation of producers in northern Peru who combine careful agronomy with precise post-harvest control, and it shows clearly in the cup. Finca Morales is managed with a strong emphasis on sustainable coffee - focussed on soil health, varietal selection, and post-harvest precision. Roiber is actively investing in an agroforestry system, redesigning planting density and intercropping to improve shade management, biodiversity, and long-term resilience. He places a strong emphasis on farm quality and varietal expression. His work reflects a careful balance between tradition, rooted in his family's heritage, and precision, driven by a genuine curiosity for experimentation and improvement.

Roiber and his family want roasters to understand the depth of intention behind every decision on the farm. From tree layout, varietal zoning, and species intercropping to fermentation logistics and drying infrastructure. Every element is intentional, and that discipline translates directly into cup clarity and structure. Their goal is not just to produce a premium coffee, but to have that work recognised and tasted.

Modern Processing

Peru has been traditionally known for washed coffees, however, as the specialty coffee world becomes better connected and information is more readily available the desire from coffee producers to experiment with new processes is becoming apparent with the rise of naturals and honeys across the country. With this explosion of new and novel coffees coming to the international market, Peruvian coffee has developed leaps and bounds. The potential for more coffee producers to undertake cutting edge techniques like anaerobic and extended fermentations is vast. Through selective harvesting, short and controlled fermentations, and patient drying, Roiber invests heavily in education and hands-on application.

Harvesting at Finca Morales is carried out selectively, with only ripe coffee cherries picked. After harvest, the coffee is left to oxidise in whole cherry for approximately 12 hours. Fermentation kicks off using the native microflora living on the surface of the cherries to start the fermentation process. These microorganisms are already present in the environment where the coffee is grown and harvested, making them the first contributors to the flavour development. The cherries are then pulped and fermented in an anaerobic environment for 24 hours, where a new microbial community will take shape, dominated by lactic acid bacteria. This two-stage process allows for a more complex flavour development - the initial fermentation in the cherry promotes the formation of fruity esters, while the second stage enhances acidity and produces additional aromatic compounds. After this the coffee is transferred to solar tents for drying. Drying takes place over roughly 15 days, until the parchment reaches a stable final moisture content of 11%. Once drying is complete, the coffee is rested for 30 to 45 days, allowing the profile to stabilise and the flavours to fully integrate before export preparation.

• Country: Peru
• Region: Amazonas
• Province: Utcubamba
• District: Lonya Grande
• Village: Nuevo Belen
• Farm: Finca Morales
• Producer: Roiber Beccera
• Altitude: 1900 m.a.s.l
• Variety: Bourbon
• Process: Anaerobic Washed

Cupping Notes: Milk chocolate, cream, red berries.

Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores

• Clean Cup: 6/8
• Sweetness: 6.5/8
• Acidity: 6/8
• Mouthfeel: 6.5/8
• Flavour: 6.5/8
• Aftertaste: 6/8
• Balance: 6.5/8
• Overall: 6.5/8
• Correction: +36
• Total: 86.5/100

If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you'd like to try cupping yourself, we've got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping.

Medium - Keep this to a steady pace, through first and well into the gap, dropping just before second gets going.