Coffees from the Americas : Peru

Generally a mildly acid coffee, light-bodied but flavorful and aromatic, Peru is considered a good blender owing to its pleasant but understated character. Peru also is widely used in dark roast blends and as a base for flavored coffees. But the best Peru coffees are subtly exceptional: light and levitating with a vanilla-nut-toned sweetness that deserves appreciation as a distinctive specialty origin.

Wet-processed coffee from the Chanchamayo Valley, about 200 miles east of Lima in the high Andes, has the best reputation of the Peru coffees. The Cuzco region, particularly the Urubamba Valley, also produces respected wet-processed coffee. The highest grade is AAA. Certified organic coffees from cooperatives of small farmers in Northern Peru are often excellent, and represent the socially progressive side of specialty coffee at its most admirable.