Geisha Peaberry • Espresso • Exotic Flowers, Mango, Smooth

Variety: GeishaScreen size: 100% Peaberry
Process: Natural, Honey & Washed mix
Producer: Finca Isabel
Microlots: Rosario, Naranjal & La Cuesta
Elevation: 1750-1850 masl
Location: Loayza, Caranavi Province, Bolivia

Net weight: 250 grams or 1 Kg whole beans
Roasted for: Espresso

This year’s peaberry mix is composed of a mix of washed, honey and natural processed beans coming from Finca Isabel’s different Geisha microlots which not only share the genetics of the trees at Hacienda La Esmeralda, but also collected many quality awards in past Bolivian auctions. Normally coffee beans grow as a pair inside each cherry, Peaberry (or caracolillo in Spanish) beans are called those beans that miss their pair, developing as a single bean inside of their cherry. Because of this, peaberry beans are more dense and pack more punch by absorbing a higher concentration of aromatic compounds. These particular beans - accounting for approximately 5-10% of the harvest - are taken out from the batches after dry milling, since they behave differently in the roast than normal beans. As a 100% peaberry batch though, we find that they make for a unique espresso, especially intense and complex, highlighting the sensorial characteristics of a given bean even more. Being denser, they are able to take on heat during roasting, which is especially beneficial in the case of Geisha where, as specialty roasters, we want to highlight the lighter nuances of the bean such as complex florals, tropical fruits and a nice clean acidity. This usually works better on filter roasts, but with the peaberry beans we can just roast them dark enough for espresso without loosing what sets it aside from other varieties.

Finca Isabel is located in the community of Loayza at an average elevation of 1750 masl, about one hour from Caranavi, Bolivia and is run by Fernando and Gabriela. Fernando comes from a local coffee producing family but studied agronomy at renowned Universities in Costa Rica and Honduras, after which he perfected his craft at Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama where he met Gabriela, who is meticulously in charge of post harvest processing. The results are evident as they run their finca extremely quality focused and with some of the most innovative agroforestry techniques we have seen in Bolivia. The symbiosis between his coffee plants and its surroundings is eye opening and big birds can freely roam their microlots, even stealing some of the sweetest coffee cherries before harvest. This doesn’t bother them, as the biodiversity of the spot clearly helps the high quality of their coffees.

Sourcing directly at origin from small farmers, we are fully aware of the hard work that goes into the quality product we buy and the challenges their families face to earn their fragile livelihood. In this regard, coffee producing communities in Bolivia face additional challenges, due to the lack of infrastructure, financial support and difficult access to international freight routes. To fairly balance the relationship between roaster and producer we are price takers and as part of our long term commitment to a financially and environmentally sustainable coffee production in Bolivia, we factor these realities into the pricing.

For this 60Kg batch of specialty grade coffee, Fernando and Gabriela received 17,62 USD/Kg.