Over the years we have released a few different Geshas from our pals at CGLE, usually their Cerro Azul is the cream of the crop, but this year we found that the Buenos Aires was...
Over the years we have released a few different Geshas from our pals at CGLE, usually their Cerro Azul is the cream of the crop, but this year we found that the Buenos Aires was particularly outstanding and provides great bang for your buck! We also love that this lot is a washed Gesha so you can really taste the genetics of this prized variety. In the cup we are getting some classic Gesha characteristics with a delicate body, refreshing acidity and notes of peach, black tea and light florals like elderflower and honeysuckle.
After taking over the family farm, dating back to the 1930s, Rigoberto and his brother, Luis decided to take their coffee in a new direction when they began growing organic coffee in the 90's. They soon acquired another farm, La Esperanza to keep up with organic production and in 2007 Rigoberto leased a farm in Panama called La Carleida. Here he won first prize for "Best Coffee in Panama" for a Geisha varietal, the seeds of which were brought back to Colombia starting a new era for coffee at Cafe Granja La Esperanza. Five farms now make up the Estate; Potosi, La Esperanza, Hawaii, Cerro Azul and Las Margaritas, growing competition winning coffees where varietals are matched with processes to create unique flavour profiles. We have been proud to work with Rigoberto and his team since 2014 and over the last 9 years we have been delighted to showcase many of their exiting coffees. This is a great example of the long-term relationships that we aim to build with all of our partners at origin.
Granja la Esperanza is a well-known producer in the world of speciality coffee due to the wide range of super high-end coffees that they produce. However, they have also shared their success with their local community in many ways. During harvest time, Café Granja look after their pickers by paying them by time not by weight and they also provide free meals and even a place to stay in their ‘barracks’. As well as looking after their own team of workers, they also help out several cooperatives in neighbouring regions by working alongside the farmers and in the washing stations to improve the cup quality so they can earn higher prices for their coffees.
As early adopters of organic production back in the 90’s, it’s clear that Rigoberto and his team have a huge respect for their land and ecosystem. All of their coffee plants are densely intercropped with a variety of other plants from shrubs to tall canopy trees including banana, guava, cacao, guanabana and many more. Not only does this help reduce the spread of pests like Broca but it also encourages birds and wildlife which in turn help by eating the Broca.
Gesha (or Geisha) is a prized variety that often fetches high prices due to it’s unique and delicious flavour profile. The variety gets it’s name from the Gora Gesha village in Ethiopia where it originated from before it was taken to Costa Rica as part of a research program in the 1950’s. In Costa Rica it was found to have good resistance against Leaf Rust and so was taken over the boarder to Panama for cultivation there too. Initially Gesha was unsuccessful in Panama due to lack of altitude. However, fast forward to 2004 and after some experimenting, Gesha finally made a name for itself when it broke records by selling for a whopping $770 per kg!
Ever since that famous lot that was produced by Hacienda la Esmeralda in 2004, Gesha has been a desirable variety. While not all Geshas have the same quality and cup profile, good ones often exhibit high sweetness, very clean cup and floral notes like jasmine, coffee blossom and black tea.
During harvest time, the cherries are picked and delivered to the beneficio twice a day, once at lunch time and again at the end of the day. This ensures that the cherries don’t begin to ferment in the sun before starting the processing. It also means that there are double the number of batches which need to be tracked and QC’d by the CGLE team!
First the cherries are floated in small tanks to separate out the ripest cherries, this also washes the cherry skins before the first stage of fermentation. This first fermentation is done with whole cherries between 19-22 hours and is monitored by actually tasting the cherries! Next the cherry skins are removed, and it is fermented again in mucilage for 35 hours before being fully washed and finally dried in mechanical driers at 35-45 degrees C until the moisture content is 10.5%.