Colombia Alexander Hernández & Leidy Vargas: Sample Coffee Roasters

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.

Sourcing and ingredients

100% Gesha coffee beans, provided by Caravela and roasted by us on Gadigal land / Sydney.

Green coffee certified Rainforest Alliance and PECA.

Country grade: Unknown ?

Packaging

Bag: ABA Certified home compostable
Label: Recyclable
Valve (on bags larger than 250g): General waste
Coffee ordered online is shipped in a recyclable cardboard box

Brewing this coffee

We recommend brewing this coffee 15–49 days post-roast. If pre-ground, brew as soon as possible. Our advice on storing coffee.

1:3
dose:yield
ratio

To brew on espresso, we recommend using 20g of beans (dose) to get 60g of espresso out (yield), during 24-28 seconds.

g dose

g yield

View the how to brew espresso (single origin) guide.

1:16.7
beans:water
ratio

To brew in infusion/fed brewers (V60, Chemex) use a ratio of 1:16.7 ratio of beans:water.

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:14.3
beans:water
ratio

To brew in immersion brewers (plunger, AeroPress, Kalita, batch brewer) we recommend using a 1:14.3 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:12
beans:water
ratio

To brew as cold brew we recommend using a 1:12 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

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

Varietals

Gesha varietal

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.