Producer: Galo Morales

Origin: Pichincha, Ecuador

Process-type: Washed

Varietal: Gesha

Cup: strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, peach, mango, pineapple, lychee, jasmine, honeysuckle, lavender, sage, lemon, and Chardonnay

Gesha is a beautiful and elegant cultivar. Once selected for its promise in resistance to coffee diseases, it was later (re)discovered by Hacienda la Esmeralda in Panama as a varietal with impressive and unexpected qualities. Gesha has direct Ethiopian lineage and under the right circumstances can display juicy, floral, aromatic, and delicate qualities reminiscent of some of the best washed Ethiopian coffees rather than what might be expected from South and Central American terroirs. Since its discovery in 2004, it has been winning competitions and become regarded as the best coffee varietal.

This Gesha lot was grown by Galo Fernando Morales Flores, his wife, and their extended family on their lush, tropical, competition winning, 350-hectare "marvelous paradise" of a farm in Pichincha, Ecuador. Pichincha is a volcano-rich province in the northern Ecuador. The farm has been in Galo's family for more than 80 years. His grandparents were its first owners. They passed it onto their children, and now Galo and his four brothers oversee operations. Galo would work alongside his mother more than 20 years ago. He went off to work professionally in the coffee sector before returning back home to farming.

This is a washed lot with an extended fermentation period. At Finca Cruz Loma coffee was hand-picked and selectively sorted for ripeness and consistency before being depupled and then fermented in open tanks for 72 hours. Fermentation after being depupled is customary in washed coffees in order loosen up the sticky mucilage layer of fruit so then it can subsequently be washed off before drying. However, fermentation times are usually closer to 18-36 hrs. After fermentation, coffee was washed in clean water and then dried on raised screen beds for 18-25 days.

The cup is lush and complex with an impressive array of flavors that range from candy to tropical to berries to floral to stone fruits and beyond. Some notes to mention are strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, peach, mango, pineapple, lychee, jasmine, honeysuckle, lavender, sage, lemon, and Chardonnay.

Check out brew guides.