Grown by Freddy Orantes in the Fraijanes region, our second year working together

An unusual cup

Buena Vista Geisha

This lot is part of a rather new aspect of Freddy’s long term aim for the very high end of the speciality market. This is one of the first harvests from his stock of the iconic Geisha varietal, grown on the highest plots of the farm at around 1900 masl. This high altitude and Freddy’s experience with microlots and exotic varietals means he is one of the only producers in the region that can produce Geishas of this quality. This lot was processed using a rather meticulous natural method. The coffee was first floated to get rid of low density cherries and foreign material, before being transferred to the drying beds. The drying process takes place on well-ventilated and shaded raised beds, while the cherry is turned very often; every hour during the initial 5 days, and every 3 hours thereafter. This creates a very even drying, and a controlled fermentation. This year, the conditions during harvest were very cool, leading to a long slow fermentation of around 27 days for this lot. This careful sorting and cool temperature fermentation has led to a very soft and delicate cup, without a great deal of ferment character. The Geisha florals are softened, and the cup is round yet delicate, like a heavy bodied oolong tea. A rather unusual, but incredibly clear and delicious example of the Geisha varietal in Guatemala.