Organic Peru Inispata Bourbon

What We Love

Peru is home to our deepest and most meaningful sourcing partnership. Six years ago, we began purchasing coffee from the San Fernando Cooperative in the mountainous community of Amaybamba, where staggering elevations and heirloom coffee varieties come together to produce coffees of remarkable flavor and character. Over the years, this partnership has grown in volume and depth, expanding beyond the blends we love to exceptional single-farmer selections highlighting the skill and dedication of producers like Mario Villano.

This is the second selection we’re featuring from Inispata this year - a truly phenomenal representation of the flavors of Pacaybamba, a small neighborhood situated in the hills viewing the stunning Incawasi Valley and Choquesafra Mountains. In this Bourbon selection, we find classic flavors of Red Delicious Apple, followed by a long sweet finish of hazel and milk chocolate. 

About the Farmer

The San Fernando Cooperative, located in the remote town of Amaybamba—a 12-hour journey from Cusco—has become one of our most cherished partnerships. Each year, we visit San Fernando to taste the micro lots produced by its members, seeking coffees that express the best qualities of this high-altitude region. Time and again, Mario Villano’s coffees rise to the top, capturing the unique flavors of Amaybamba’s microclimate.

This year, we had the privilege of visiting Mario at his farm, nestled in the hamlet of Inispata just a few miles from Amaybamba. The path to his farm winds through landscapes shaped by natural springs and framed by the towering Andes. These springs, flowing from the mountains, provide much-needed moisture for Mario’s coffee trees in the otherwise dry climate. Nearby, a vast preserve of virgin forest offers shade, cool temperatures, and biodiversity that benefits his crops.

Mario grew up in a farming household, cultivating coffee alongside vegetables and fruit. While he continues this tradition, his hard work has enabled his children to pursue higher education in nearby cities. Alongside coffee, Mario also grows avocados, though they fetch surprisingly low prices in the local market. 

Over the years, Mario has refined his coffee processes. He’s built raised drying beds to ensure his coffee dries slowly and evenly and adopted an extended fermentation method, waiting two days before de-pulping the cherries. This allows him to process larger volumes, streamlining his workflow. While his methods aren’t overly technical, the results speak for themselves: consistently sweet, balanced coffees that reflect the region’s character.

About the Coffee

Peruvian coffees hold a special place at Wonderstate, and for good reason: they’re among the best organically cultivated coffees in the world. The extreme elevations of the Andes create ideal growing conditions, with each community tucked into dramatic landscapes of jagged mountains and deep ravines. These microclimates yield relentlessly delicious coffees, and Amaybamba is no exception.

Amaybamba’s combination of altitude, climate, and traditional varieties produces some of the most distinctive coffees we roast. Farms like Mario’s benefit from natural springs that weave through the hamlets, providing critical moisture in the dry climate. At elevations above 2,000 meters—some of the highest in the Americas—coffee cherries mature slowly, absorbing the nutrients of ancient Andean soils. The result is a coffee that’s both vibrant and deeply satisfying.

Bourbon is one of the oldest coffee varieties in the world still cultivated today. It’s become an increasingly rare variety to find, as it’s been replaced by newer hybridized varieties. Yet, in some remote areas such as the Incawasi Valley, producers like Mario still cultivate Bourbon alongside hybridized varieties. Bourbon is known for its dense chocolate and sugary tones, complimented by ripe fruitiness and a long sweet finish. In many ways, this Bourbon selection from Inispata is an ode to the disappearing flavors of coffee around the world. 

Mario employs classic washed processing: cherries are picked and meticulously hand-sorted for ripeness, then rested for two days before de-pulping. A 48-hour dry fermentation in wooden tanks follows, after which the coffee is washed and dried on raised beds for around 15 days. The resulting cup bursts with ripe fruit tones, soft chocolate-caramel sweetness, and a nutty finish that ties everything together—a perfect snapshot of Amaybamba’s terroir and Mario’s dedication.