Colombia. José Ignacio Gómez. Geisha. Washed. Need to know anything else?
VERY SPECIAL
Here we usually explain why we chose X or Y coffee for the latest VS subscription delivery. But whenever we feature a Geisha, it feels like not much description is needed; almost everybody knows that this varietal is extremely select, very tricky to grow but incredibly rewarding in flavour.
This washed lot from José Ignacio Gómez demonstrates why Geisha has some hype. It’s clean, it’s complex, it’s delicately nuanced. In fact, it ranked #20 at the Colombia 2022 Cup of Excellence.
This VS is top of the game—basically a soft drink in coffee form.
ABOUT JOSÉ
José Ignacio Gómez is a familiar name for us. We featured a lot of Caturra and another lot of Geisha some years ago (the latter won Caravela’s Colombia’s Got Talent fun competition in 2020).
He is a second-generation producer who learned everything about coffee from his dad. In 2002 he purchased his own farm, El Paraíso, and began producing commodity-grade coffee. A few years later, he dipped a toe into the specialty market, attracted by the higher financial reward and technical challenge. As he earned experience within the production side, he also learned how to cup and analyse, trying to understand how changes in the harvest and process would affect his coffee flavour profile.
José has become a respected member of the Nariño coffee-producing community. He co-founded the Cooperativa de Cafés Especiales de Nariño, a cooperative organisation to help its members market their outstanding coffees. He is also a constant appearance in the yearly Cup of Excellence rankings.
ABOUT LOS ÁNGELES
Finca Los Ángeles is a parallel project that José runs alongside part of his family. It’s located not far from El Paraíso, in the municipality of Buesaco, Nariño, Colombia.
4 out of the 6 hectares of this farm are dedicated to growing coffee—mainly Geisha varietal. This varietal, known for its delicate care requirements, works very well here thanks to the altitude, climate, and José’s hard-earned experience. He started to work with Geisha in 2013, and after adapting some methods, he realised its great potential and performance.
Aside from producing a high volume of the highest standard of specialty coffee, Los Ángeles is an experimental centre where the team investigates and tests constantly.
ABOUT GEISHA
Geisha (also sometimes spelled Gesha) is a varietal known for its exceptional cupping quality but also for its susceptibility to diseases and low yield.
“This variety was originally collected from coffee forests in Ethiopia in the 1930s. From there, it was sent to the Lyamungu research station in Tanzania, and then brought to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Central America in the 1953, where it was logged as accession T2722. It was distributed throughout Panama via CATIE in the 1960s after it had been recognised for tolerance to coffee leaf rust. However, the plant’s branches were brittle and not favored by farmers so it was not widely planted. The coffee came to prominence in 2005 when the Peterson family of Boquete, Panama, entered it into the "Best of Panama” competition and auction. It received exceptionally high marks and broke the then-record for green coffee auction prices, selling for over $20/pound.
[…]It is associated with extremely high cup quality when the plants are managed well at high altitude, and is known for its delicate floral, jasmine, and peach-like aromas.
The spellings Geisha and Gesha are often used interchangeably, relating to the fact that there is no set translation from the dialects of Ethiopia to English.“
Source: World Coffee Research
ABOUT THIS LOT’S PROCESS
While the typical washed process is simple, it is done with the utmost care and attention. Combined with the properties given by the growing environment, results in a clean, sweet and floral brew.
After being roasted lightly on our Loring, we find notes of lemonade, passionfruit and mango, with a super light body and balanced acidity.
BREW, SHARE AND ENJOY
Time to brew and have a good time. Check out our brewing recipes and notes, add yours or talk to us via email/Instagram about tips and guidance. Enjoy!
All the images and information about this coffee and its producers have been kindly shared by the importer, Cofinet, and edited by us, Sample Coffee (unless linked to or credited otherwise).
