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In the cup: Complexity, balance and a dynamic combination of sweeter apricot and berry-like flavour notes with zesty orange highlights.
Cupping score: 89,5
Mouthfeel: Textured, creamy
Variety: Gesha
Process: Anaerobic
Producer: Alfaro Family / Finca El Cocal
Altitude : 1400 m.a.s.l.
Region: Apaneca-Illamtepec
Background:
The Alfaro family are 4th generation coffee producers. They own Agricola San Agustin and are focused on producing high quality specialty coffee at Finca El Cocal.
The region’s volcanic soil, high elevation and ideal microclimate combine to create superb conditions for growing dense, sweet cherry. The Alfaro family capitalizes on these condition by focusing on meticulous, quality-oriented processing.
In addition to the highly coveted Geisha in this lot, they cultivate Red and Yellow Bourbon on the farm.
Gesha (also known as Geisha) is known for its exceptional cup quality, especially when grown at high altitudes. The variety comes from Ethiopian landrace coffees and was collected from Ethiopian coffee forests in the 1930s. The name supposedly derives from Ethiopia’s Gori Gesha forest.
There is some confusion with several genetically distinct varieties that have all been called Gesha, but the most famous variety is the Panama one. The variety was brought to Lyamungu research station in Tanzania and from there to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Central America in 1953. At CATIE, the variety was logged as T2722. CATIE distributed T2722 across Panama in the 1960s for its Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) resistance, but its brittle branches meant it was not widely planted.
Panama Gesha reached its modern fame in 2005 when a Gesha lot won the “Best of Panama” competition and broke contemporary records at over $20/pound. DNA analysis has demonstrated that the Panama Geisha descended from T2722 is distinct and uniform. Today, Gesha is known for its delicate florals, jasmine and stone fruit.