This is a fun Gesha from a unique and underrepresented region in Colombia. Gesha is now planted in many areas, and we expect to see even more from a vast array of places in the future. In the cup we find a floral-driven profile of white flowers, bergamot, and clementine.
Gesha
Santa Barbara
1,900 masl
July, 2024
Hand-picked at peak ripeness. Held in-cherry for 24 hours. Floated. De-pulped. Dry-fermented for 36 hours. Dried on raised beds until moisture content reaches ~10%.
El Recreo, the farm of Diego Ucros and his father, Fernando, is located in a lesser-known coffee-producing area of Colombia, just 90 minutes north of Bogotá. Although this region is not widely recognized for specialty coffee, Diego and Fernando have consistently produced vibrant and exciting coffees over the past few years. We’re passionate about exploring emerging coffee regions, and El Recreo is a prime example of the potential we see in these new and exciting areas.
Gesha was originally collected from coffee forests of Ethiopia in the 1930's. From there, it was sent to the Lyamungo 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 1960’s after its tolerance to coffee leaf rust was recognized. However, it was not widely planted because the plant's branches were brittle and not favored by farmers. Gesha 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 per pound. Since then, the variety has become a resounding favorite of brewing and roasting competition winners and coffee enthusiasts alike.
The cost of getting a coffee from cherry to beverage varies enormously depending on its place of origin and the location of its consumption. The inclusion of price transparency is a starting point to inform broader conversation around the true costs of production and the sustainability of specialty coffee as a whole.