Producer: The Peterson Family
Farm: Jaramillo, Hacienda La Esmeralda
Region: Boquete
Altitude: 1,700 masl
Varietal: Gesha
Process: Washed
Roast: Light-Medium
Notes: White Peach, Jasmine, Graham Cracker

It was in Jaramillo’s unique microclimate where gesha was rediscovered in 2004. With cool temperatures and massive shade trees that have been standing for ages, the perfumed jasmine and stone fruit notes in the geshas from this area are uniquely bright and kaleidoscopic. To this day many of La Esmeralda's top-performing microlots come from the slopes of Jaramillo. The lower areas of the farm are planted with catuaí.

Harvested coffee is taken to a receiving tank where water is pumped to push it down a funnel. “Floaters”—unripe cherries that float on the surface—are discarded. The remaining cherries have their surrounding skin and pulp mechanically separated.

The skin and pulp is collected to be used as fertilizer for the farms and pastures. The coffee is now comprised of the bean, surrounded by a layer of parchment (or pergamino), and covered in a sticky mucilage. A mechanical demucilager scrubs the mucilage off prior to drying.

Depending on the weather and the composition of the lot, the coffee will dry for 3 to 5 days on a concrete patio (for 8 hours per day). It is then rotated into a Guardiola dryer for 72 hours to round out the drying process and prevent unwanted fermentation. The beans are stored in nylon bags to rest for between 30 and 45 days. This reposo period helps to stabilize the enzymes in the bean.

A week prior to shipment, the coffee is hulled to remove the parchment layer, then sorted by size, density, and color to create consistent nanolots. Finally, it is vacuum sealed in GrainPro bags and shipped.

We've been proud to offer Geshas from Hacienda La Esmeralda for more than a decade. All of their farms are Rainforest Alliance Certified, attesting to Esmeralda's sustainable practices: reuse of leftover coffee pulp as a fertilizer; forest maintenance along watersheds; timing coffee tree pruning around bird nesting season; use of hydroelectricity and sustainable wood burning to run the coffee mill; and more.

The Petersons' spirit of experimentation continues: they are testing 32 different processes, including combinations of fermentations, yeast inoculations, and drying techniques. Working with a local university, they have begun isolating and culturing native yeasts found at their farms and on coffee cherries, including different genera such as Pichia, Candida, and Saccharomyces. The various yeasts have been used to inoculate coffee fermentations, with the most successful trials increasing the floral and stone fruit qualities inherent to Gesha when compared to commercial alternatives.