Colombia Granja La Esperanza 'Cerro Azul' AA Geisha

Cafe Granja La Esperanza manages 3 farms: Cerro Azul, Potosi, and Las Margaritas in eight distinct microclimates located in three mountain ranges in Colombia, which gives the experienced agronomists behind Cafe Granja La Esperanza plenty of room to experiment with a number of variables, such as microclimates, processing methods, and varietals. The team at Granja La Esperanza is driven by a combination of science, business, and an obsession with quality coffee. The team creates milling and processing protocols tailored for each distinctive microclimate and varietal.

The staff is so dedicated to quality and research that they recently spent two years studying the famous Geisha varietal in Boquete Panama, on a property adjacent to the famed Peterson Esmeralda farm, before becoming the first producers to bring the varietal to Colombia at their Finca Cerro Azul in Trujillo. Their dedication to quality goes so far that coffee harvesters must demonstrate a level of excellence during a five month training period before being qualified to pick the Geisha cherries at the peak of ripeness.

In addition to winning the Triple Crown Award at SCAA in 2012, coffee from one of this farm, Finca Cerro Azul, was ranked second place with a score of 88.25. Coffees from Cafe Granja La Esperanza were also used in competition by the winners of the Brewer's Cup and Roasters Choice Awards. Their hard work was described as an "unrelenting quest to steadily obtain the most perfect cup of coffee" and this coffee is proof of their success in this quest. Last year we had geisha coffee from their Buenos Aires lot and now, this time around, we were able to secure the prized coffee from Cerro Azul.

Region: Trujillo, Valle del Cauca

Producer: Granja La Esperanza

Grade: AA (largest beans)

Altitude: 5,250-6,550 feet

Cultivar: Gesha, aka Geisha

Milling: Washed

Picking: Every 4 days during harvest season and only fully matured cherries