Inca Gesha coffee variety – A proud legacy of an ancient civilization

From the mist-covered valleys of the Cusco highlands to specialty coffee cups around the world, Inca Gesha evokes a feeling that is both familiar and unfamiliar. Familiar because the name “Gesha/Geisha” is well known within the global coffee community; unfamiliar because the journey of this coffee variety in Peru is filled with ambiguities and unanswered questions. Unlike many coffee varieties that have been thoroughly studied and clearly classified, Inca Gesha exists at the intersection of local agricultural reality and historical legend making it both highly sought after and widely debated among professionals.

Global Gesha coffee – The long shadow from Ethiopia

To understand the context of Inca Gesha’s origins, it is first necessary to look at the original Gesha variety – a coffee lineage originating from the Gori Gesha forest in Ethiopia. This region is where wild Arabica coffee trees with some of the richest genetic diversity were first discovered and documented in the 1930s. From there, researchers introduced this variety to agricultural research centers across East and Central Africa, and it gradually spread to other regions through international crop genetic exchange programs.

Most of the global coffee community believes that Gesha was introduced to Panama in the 1960s via CATIE (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza). It later became a specialty coffee icon when cultivated in Boquete and achieved top honors at the Best of Panama competition in the early 2000s, gaining worldwide recognition for its elegant flavor profile and record-breaking auction prices.

Inca Gesha in Peru – Name or Genetics?

Unlike Panama Gesha or other varieties with well-documented genetic lineages, Inca Gesha in Peru stands at the boundary between nomenclature and true genetic identity. In The Lost Origins of Inca Gesha, Christopher Feran cites the results of genetic fingerprinting conducted on a coffee plant locally referred to by farmers as Inca Gesha.

The results indicate that this sample is “very close” to a cultivar known as SL-09 in existing coffee genetic databases. However, historical records show that SL-09 was neither widely cultivated nor distributed in Peru, and it is not considered an indigenous Ethiopian Gesha variety.

This suggests that the name Inca Gesha was likely assigned based on local experience, plant morphology, or traditional farming practices, rather than on a genetically verified origin aligned with international standards.

In many other cases around the world, coffee varieties were identified by local names long before formal genetic analyses were conducted, leading to inconsistent and diverse naming conventions – Inca Gesha being a representative example of this reality.

Coffee history in Peru and the discontinuity of archival records

Coffee was introduced to Peru around the 18th century, but it was not until the mid-20th century that coffee cultivation became widespread, largely through land reform policies and the agricultural expansion of indigenous communities. Within this context, systems for international documentation and preservation of crop varieties in Peru were not fully maintained, due in part to war, land policies, and generational changes in smallholder farming practices. Feran points out that critical records related to coffee varieties were lost, resulting in a significant gap in historical and genetic data that the coffee community has yet to fill.

Between name and nature: What defines “Inca Gesha”?

In the world of Specialty Coffee, a name is not merely a commercial label, but also a means of telling the story of the land, its people, and the agricultural history tied to it. With Inca Gesha, the name extends beyond varietal classification, directly evoking the Inca civilization – one of the most advanced indigenous civilizations in the Americas, renowned for its sophisticated agricultural knowledge, its ability to adapt to the harsh Andean terrain, and its harmonious relationship with nature.

Within this context, even though the genetic fingerprint of Inca Gesha may show differences from original Gesha or standardized cultivars such as SL-09, the name Inca Gesha continues to be used by farming communities and the specialty coffee sector as a way to honor indigenous heritage. It represents the Andean highlands, where agricultural practices shaped by the ancient Inca civilization are still preserved, along with indigenous knowledge passed down through generations. For today’s coffee professionals and consumers, it is precisely this cultural and historical layer that contributes to the value of Inca Gesha not only as a coffee variety, but as a symbol of local excellence carried forward into the modern era.

The mystery surrounding the origins of Inca Gesha therefore remains a knot that must be untangled through future scientific research. Genetic analysis, documentation of indigenous agricultural history, and comparison with international datasets are essential steps toward determining what Inca Gesha ultimately represents within the global coffee varietal system.

Before addressing the specific question at hand, it is necessary to briefly understand the SL line (short for Scott Laboratories), which refers to coffee varieties selected from single tree selections between 1935 and 1939 by Scott Agricultural Laboratories in Kenya.

Among the SL varieties, SL-09 is a particular case. According to analytical records documented by Christopher Feran, SL-09 is a rare cultivar within the Ethiopian Legacy group, but it was excluded from distribution programs due to its higher susceptibility to coffee berry disease compared to other cultivars. For this reason, SL-09 was never commercialized or widely distributed outside Kenya in the way that SL-28 or SL-34 were.

Genetic analysis: Close, but not identical

In a genetic analysis report of a coffee plant grown in Peru and referred to as “Inca Gesha”, the cited expert notes that the sample’s genetic fingerprint is extremely close to SL-09 – close enough that it “could be considered SL-09 if minor deviations from the original reference are accepted”.

However, Feran himself raises a critical question: if SL-09 was never exported from Kenya for cultivation elsewhere, how could a Peruvian plant possess such a closely matching genetic fingerprint?

This reveals an important reality in agronomy and coffee genetics: genetic proximity does not necessarily equate to genetic identity. Even when a plant exhibits genetic traits similar to SL-09, it may in fact be a distinct cultivar arising from natural mutation, crossbreeding with other lines, or as a descendant of planting materials distributed through earlier FAO or Scott Laboratories programs.

The gap between name and biological reality

A well-known reality in the coffee industry is that cultivar terminology and names are often passed down orally and become widely used before clear scientific data is available. This has occurred in many parts of the world, from Gesha trees in Mexico or Panama to local naming conventions in Peru, where plants may be labeled “Gesha” or “SL-09” despite not being genetically identical to what those names imply.

As a result, a gap persists between actual biological expression and commercial or local naming, and modern Inca Gesha may be a representative case of this phenomenon. It is not SL-09 in the strict genetic sense, but it exhibits closely related characteristics and is named in a way that reflects historical and morphological associations.

So is Inca Gesha biologically SL-09?

In conclusion, although some preliminary genetic analyses suggest that Inca Gesha may be very close to SL-09, there is no definitive evidence confirming that Inca Gesha is genetically identical to SL-09 within standardized genetic classification systems. The similarity may arise from shared ancestry within the Ethiopian Legacy group or from coffee lines introduced and crossbred decades ago. However, standardized genetic data and comprehensive comparative scientific studies are still lacking to conclusively determine its biological identity.

It is precisely this ambiguity between hypothesis, genetic data, and local agricultural practice that makes Inca Gesha one of the most compelling and unresolved subjects in current research on coffee varieties today.

Following the discussions surrounding the origins and biological nature of Inca Gesha, a more important question for coffee professionals and specialty coffee enthusiasts emerges: how does this coffee variety express itself in practice?.

The introduction of Nueva Alianza’s Inca Gesha coffee lot at XLIII Coffee represents a valuable sensory experiment. In a context where Inca Gesha remains a scientifically debated term, direct experience in the cup becomes an important complementary source of data, alongside genetic analysis and academic research.

Through the processes of roasting, brewing, and tasting at XLIII Coffee, Inca Gesha coffee is placed into a space of dialogue: between hypothesis and practice, between name and actual expression. This is also how many coffee varieties in the past have gained recognition not solely through scientific documentation, but through consistency and distinction demonstrated in sensory experience.

The Nueva Alianza Inca Gesha coffee lot, in its first presentation at XLIII Coffee, represents the next stage in the journey of this coffee variety: moving from academic inquiry to sensory validation. The biological and flavor characteristics expressed in this lot may not provide definitive answers to every debate, but they are sufficient to affirm that Inca Gesha does not merely exist on paper or in theory; it is actively expressing a clear identity in the cup, where science, cultivation, and experience converge.

Images are owned by XLIII Coffee and have been collected from various sources.

1. What kind of coffee variety is Inca Gesha?

Inca Gesha is the name given to an Arabica coffee line grown in Peru, commonly associated with the Andean highlands. This coffee is known for its refined flavor profile and exhibits many characteristics reminiscent of the Gesha/Ethiopian legacy group.

2. Where does Inca Gesha originate from?

Inca Gesha has been primarily documented in coffee-growing regions of Peru, particularly at high elevations. It has been preserved and propagated through traditional smallholder farming practices. Due to limited historical and genetic records, the precise origin of Inca Gesha remains unclear.

3. What do current genetic analyses say about the relationship between Inca Gesha and SL-09?

Some genetic fingerprinting analyses indicate that Inca Gesha shares a high degree of similarity with the SL-09 cultivar within the Ethiopian legacy group. However, current data is insufficient to conclusively identify Inca Gesha as SL-09, and further comparative research is required.

4. Does the name “Inca Gesha” have scientific or commercial significance?

The name “Inca Gesha” carries more descriptive and cultural significance than standardized scientific meaning. It reflects the growing region, local context, and association with the renowned Gesha lineage. In practice, it functions as a community-recognized designation used to identify and tell the story of this coffee.

5. Does the lack of clear classification affect coffee quality?

An unclear classification does not imply lower quality. Coffee quality is determined by cultivation conditions, harvesting, processing, and roasting. In the specialty coffee world, actual sensory experience remains the most important factor alongside the varietal narrative.