Jardines del Eden

Geisha

The third ‘Ethiopian Long Berry’ varietal in this pack requires almost no introduction. Geisha was isolated by British researchers in the Gesha forest in Ethiopia in the 1930’s, and thereafter studied at research stations in Kenya and Tanzania. It was much later introduced into Panama during an outbreak of leaf rust, due to observed resistance to the disease. The varietal was planted sporadically, blended into lots with other varietals, and mainly forgotten about until the Peterson family cupped some Geisha at their farm Hacienda La Esmeralda in 2004. The varietal, planted at high altitude and processed separately, unveiled its crisp citrus and floral aromatics for the first time, and immediately broke records at that year’s Best of Panama auction. This lot of Geisha showcases those crisp florals, here softened into violet and rose, alongside intense sweetness and ripe fruit notes, together reminiscent of strawberry candy.

Four varietals, one process

This pack focusses on four varietals grown at Jardines del Eden. Each is fermented using the same protocol, so the differences here are due to the varietal. Cherries are first fermented in an open tank for 24 hours, before being sealed in plastic ‘Grain-pro’ bags for 50 hours, with the temperature controlled so that the fermentation mass doesn’t exceed 22°. This leads to a rich and definitely ‘process-forward’ expression, while maintaining a great deal of clean varietal character in the final cup. This means each of the 4 varietals are able to showcase their characteristics in a very rich and sweet process forward expression. The story of how each varietal ended up growing in the fields of Colombia spans centuries, and involves early agriculture, smuggling, and colonialism, before moving into more modern methods of breeding and selection.

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