Photo for Alexander Hernández & Leidy Vargas

Colombia
Alexander Hernández & Leidy Vargas

Alexander manages his farm with Leidy Johana Vargas under the shade of cachingo, guamo and plantain trees. We taste finger lime, elderflower, and watermelon.

Washed process Gesha

Flavour: finger lime, elderflower, watermelon

Body: Acidity:

Roast: omni (filter + espresso)

Get a taste of Colombia’s finest with this washed Geisha by Alexander and Leidy.

VERY SPECIAL

Almost inevitably, we return to the VS roots with a delicate washed Geisha from Colombia. It’s not a crazy or wacky profile coffee, but simply a fantastic serving of the best Caravela (the importer) sources from the favourite South American country.

It’s too pricey and small a lot to offer on our standard subscription, and it goes a notch beyond in terms of quality and flavour. Alexander Hernández & Leidy Johana Vargas’ Geisha is, indeed, Very Special.

ALEXANDER, LEIDY AND LA ESMERALDA

This Finca La Esmeralda (definitely a common name for coffee farms!) is located in Pitalito, southern Huila, near the heart of the Macizo Colombiano at 1700 metres above sea level. Here, three major Colombian mountain ranges converge near the source of the Magdalena River, and these factors create diverse microclimates that are well-known in Colombia’s coffee production.

Alexander manages his 9-hectare farm in partnership with Leidy Johana Vargas. They grow a mix of Caturra, V.Colombia and Geisha varietals under the shade of cachingo, guamo and plantain trees.

He completed the Caravela PECA curriculum and holds PECA certification, which helped them achieve top-quality coffee like the lot we’re featuring here. The PECA program equips producers with the skills and knowledge necessary to enhance coffee quality at every stage of the process, from seed selection to seedling cultivation, planting, soil management, pest and blight control, ripe cherry picking, cherry de-pulping, fermentation, and parchment drying. PECA training guided Alexander and Leidy in introducing shade cover over their patios, raised beds for the drying process and guidance on maintaining clean fermentation tanks for superior coffee washing.

THIS COFFEE

The varietal doesn’t need a presentation—Geisha! The process is traditionally fully washed and fermented for 24 hours, then shade-dried in covered patios and raised drying beds, per PECA tips.

The result is an outstanding sample of Colombia’s finest, which, by the way, is Rainforest Alliance certified.

Learn everything about this coffee:

Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

Dose: 20g ground coffee
Yield: 60g espresso
Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
Labels: recyclable
Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

Learn more:
Our packaging

Producer: Alexander Hernández & Leidy J. Vargas
Farm/Coop: Finca La Esmeralda
Country: Colombia
Region: Pitalito, Huila
Altitude: 1700m above sea level
Variety: Gesha
Process: washed
Importer: Caravela
Body
Acidity
Tasting notes: Finger lime, elderflower, watermelon
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Variety

Gesha variety

An exceptionally high quality variety that has grown in popularity, Gesha is named after the town of Gesha in Ethiopia where the seeds originated.

The location

Coffee from Colombia

Colombia is one of the largest coffee producers in the world and benefits greatly from having one of the most unique and complex set of micro-climates of all coffee producing nations.

The Huila region of Colombia

This region boasts the perfect combination of high quality soil and geography and is quickly becoming one of the largest coffee producing regions in Colombia. One of the best regarded regions for high quality, fruit driven coffee.

Farm processes

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.