El Relojero - Luisa Zamaolla - Washed Bourbon - Microlot

Who is Luisa Zamaolla?

Luisa Zamaolla is a dedicated coffee producer from the Inkatambo sector of Huayopata, in La Convención province, Cusco. Known locally for her technical rigour and generosity in sharing knowledge, Luisa is respected within her community for both her agronomic skills and her role in supporting other producers through collaboration and mentorship.

While she is best known for her work with Geisha varieties, Luisa applies the same care and discipline to all her coffees, including this Bourbon—focusing on plant health, clean processing, and long-term quality rather than short-term yield. 

About Luisa Zamaolla and her farm, El Relojero

Luisa’s farm, Finca El Relojero, is named after a distinctive bird often seen on the property, locally associated with clocks and time. The farm covers a total of 8 hectares, planted with coffee and tea, and sits at 2,100 metres above sea level.

The Bourbon lot comes from approximately half a hectare, planted with around 2,000 trees. The Bourbon was established in 2020, making it a relatively young planting that is already showing clarity, structure, and aromatic potential typical of high-altitude Cusco coffees.

How was the coffee processed?

This coffee follows a careful, small-batch washed process adapted to the humid conditions of Huayopata. Selective hand-harvesting of ripe cherries is done followed by a flotation washing immediately after harvest to discard any defected cherries. The coffee cherries are then puled and followed by fermentation in GrainPro bags submerged in water for approximately three days, 72 hours.

The fermentation progress is assessed organoleptically (aroma, texture, flavour of the must), as instrumental pH measurement is not available.

The coffee is then washed in vats and sun-dried for around 14 days until stable export moisture is reached around 11%. The coffee is well rested before milling to stabilise the parchment and the focus of the process is cleanliness, balance, and expression of variety rather than overt fermentation character.

The role of AYNI for this coffee?

AYNI plays a central role in creating the conditions for coffees like this to exist. Built around shared harvest work, peer learning, and the open exchange of processing knowledge, AYNI enables producers to refine their practices while maintaining full autonomy over their farms. For Luisa, AYNI is not simply a commercial structure, but a space for collaboration, experimentation, and mutual support—particularly important in the high-humidity conditions of Inkatambo, where shared experience can make the difference between success and loss.

AYNI is led by Kevin Roman, a young coffee professional with deep family roots in Huyro. Kevin created AYNI specifically to work with producers from this area, recognising both the quality potential and the lack of tailored support structures. The association has since grown to include 13 families, with a strong emphasis on collective learning. Luisa stands out within the group for her depth of experience, having grown up with coffee throughout her life and actively contributing knowledge back into the network.

Alongside looking for green coffee buyers, Kevin also sources coffee from Huyro to produce and sell roasted coffee domestically, creating an additional income stream for the association.

How does Khipu Coffee know about AYNI?

We met Kevin Roman at a cupping of Cusco coffees in Lima. We stayed in touch following that meeting and continued to follow the work he was building through AYNI, admiring the clarity of purpose and consistency visible through their online presence and producer stories.

Late in the 2023 harvest, we sourced Luisa’s Geisha, marking AYNI’s first engagement with an international buyer. That coffee set a notably high benchmark for the association and established a clear quality reference point for future lots. This year, we have returned to AYNI to deepen the relationship, working with a broader range of coffees and producers rather than treating the initial export as a one-off.

What Luisa and family want you to know

Luisa and her family see coffee as a long-term project rooted in care, patience, and shared learning. Quality, for them, is not a single harvest outcome but something built season by season—through attention to detail, openness to improvement, and respect for the land.