The first release from our new line of limited edition coffees. Juicy Geisha from one of Guatemala's best farmers and our friend Feli. Read on to find out how this exceptional coffee was made!
We met Felipe three years ago in Liberec. He was 24 and all he talked about was his farm. A year later, we spent the entire harvest with him trying to discover his best coffee. It worked incredibly well - this washed Geisha is proof of that.
Location
Felipe's farm is located in Antigua, one of Central America's most famous landmarks. In addition to the farm, Felipe has a roastery in town. He knows each of his coffees perfectly, thanks to his connection with the Alegria café where his coffees are offered. So he can control the whole chain himself. This allows him to tailor the work on the farm to the needs of the baristas and home brewers all around the world.
All the farms around the town have suffered from drought and infertile soil in recent years. Felipe compensates for this with organic fertiliser, which he produces on the farm and distributes to other farmers. This ensures that each variety gets the exact ratio of nutrients it needs. In addition, the entire farm has a sophisticated irrigation system that adjusts the water dosage to the coffee plants based on the current needs. But of course, the biggest advantage is the shade trees that line the entire farm. They keep the moisture under the canopy and reduce the ambient temperature on the farm. These trees include banana or avocado trees, which serve as snacks for the pickers and farm workers.
variety
We fell in love with this lot during our first cupping in Guatemala. Geisha is originally an Ethiopian variety, which was rediscovered in Panama in 2005. Since then it has been one of the highest rated varieties in the world. It is exceptional for its delicate stone fruit flavour with floral notes. When it comes to planting new varieties, it is all about the quality and origin of the seedlings. That's why Feli has sourced seedlings from Panamanian farmers who have long been successful in auction competitions with their Geishas. They are planted on the highest part of the farm, where the higher altitude means the cherries ripen more slowly and develop more sugars.
Processing
Feli measures the sugar content throughout the harvest to ensure that only the ripest cherries are harvested. We loved his Geisha combined with the specific washed processing. The cherries are left to ferment overnight in bags, giving the coffee a higher complexity. In the morning, they're depulped and left to oxidize in the mucilage for 60 hours, fermenting gently. This gives the coffee its complex acidity. They are then washed from the rest of the pulp and gradually dried in a foil dryer, where temperature, airflow and humidity are controlled to ensure that the coffee dries evenly.
Roasting
All exclusive coffees are roasted in small batches using the Stronghold technology. Thanks to the unique architecture of the roasting drum, we can fine-tune the perfect profile to suit each coffee and replicate it with the utmost precision. The revolutionary triple heat transfer technology allows us to fully develop the character of the coffee, extracting plenty of sweetness while retaining even the subtlest notes, such as jasmine in this case, in the flavour. But because of this technology, the coffee needs to breathe longer. We recommend to start brewing the coffee 4 weeks after roasting.
sensory description
At first taste, the coffee will impress you with its rich aroma. It reminds us of plums, lime cheesecake and jasmine. The flavour profile is complemented by notes of ripe pineapple, marzipan and sweet vanilla. In the aftertaste, it is the notes of stone fruit and vanilla that carry over the most. The coffee has a sweet, juicy body that transitions into a long and creamy aftertaste. Definitely one of the best Geishas we have tasted.
brewing
We always recommend using filtered water, a scale and freshly ground coffee for brewing. Stronghold coffees ideally need 4 weeks after roasting to fully reveal their character.
We grind the Gascón rather coarsely - 25 clicks on the Comandante, 7.5 on the Ditting 807 LS, 8 on the EK43.
At Nordbeans, we use the April brewer because it allows us to replicate recipes consistently and extract the coffee more evenly due to the flat bed.
Recipe - Higher sweetness and complexity
15 g, 250 ml, 93 °C, 3:00
We divide the preparation into four quick pours of 60, 90, 50 and 50 ml. We adjust the pouring times so that most of the previous pour always flows through the coffee bed.
1. 30 g in a circular motion, 30 g in the centre (0:00-0:10)
2. 50 g in a circular motion, 40 g in the centre (0:40-0:50)
3. 30 g circularly, 20 g in the middle (1:20-1:30)
4. 30 g in circular motion, 20 g in the middle (2:00-2:10)
Total extraction time should be between 2:45 and 3:15.
Recipe - Higher acidity and simplicity
16 g, 250 ml, 93 °C, 2:20
Divide the preparation into two quick infusions of 100 and 150 ml. Adjust the infusion times so that most of the previous infusion always flows through the coffee bed.