Colombia
Finca Buenos Aires
Israel Hernández

Israel Hernandez is a third-generation coffee producer from Tolima. This Geisha lot is sugary sweet with notes of mandarin, lemon myrtle and bergamot.

Washed process Gesha

Flavour: mandarin, lemon myrtle and bergamot

Body: Acidity:

Roast: omni (filter + espresso)

A mesmerising washed lot of Geisha produced by Israel Hernandez, who reached 4th place in Colombia’s Cup of Excellence 2020.

VERY SPECIAL

After last month’s VS trifecta (Los Tres Mosquteros), the stakes are high. But this clean Geisha will do just as fine. We’ve featured Israel’s coffee previously for the exact same reasons: high quality of processing and flavour. This time, we’ve made room for him in the VS shelf because it’s a tiny lot of one of the best varietals, showing up in the cup as sweet and citrusy. Really bright.

THE FARM & PRODUCER

Israel Hernandez is a third-generation coffee producer from Rioblanco (Tolima, Colombia). At 15, his father had already taught him everything about coffee, from fertilisation to the post-harvest processes. It was back then when he started dreaming about running his own coffee farm, owning his own business.

In 2005, Israel purchased a small piece of land in a countryside town called Uribe. Just in front of it was an already established and beautiful coffee farm to which he would stare every day. After gathering some savings, he was able to buy it and start realising his dream. He called his farm Buenos Aires (‘good airs’ in Spanish) because of its perfect weather and altitude.

The main varieties growing there are Caturra and Castillo. In 2016, he learned about Geisha’s great potential for quality and income, so he decided to plant 1200 trees.

He also reached out to receive training about managing this new varietal, as he soon realised that producing specialty coffee required much more attention to detail and delicate work. “Through specialty coffee, I’ve learned to love the product because it’s a beautiful way to be profitable and move forward in life.”

For Israel, receiving recognition for his hard work is very satisfying. In fact, one of his Geisha lots made it to 4th place in Colombia’s Cup of Excellence 2020. He says he continuously produces coffee with all his love because he believes that his coffee speaks for him to the whole world.

THIS LOT’S VARIETAL & PROCESS

This small lot is made of only perfectly ripe red Geisha cherries, grown under the shade of Guamo and Plantain trees. It has been fully washed and traditionally fermented, then dried on house-type covered raised African beds until achieving Israel’s perfect moisture level.

ENJOY

We hope you enjoy this coffee. Please visit our online brew guides or email us anytime for tips on how to make the most of this coffee!

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: Israel Hernández
Country: Colombia
Region: Tolima
Altitude: 1830m above sea level
Variety: Gesha
Process: washed
Harvested: June 2023
Importer: Caravela
Body: Light
Acidity: Bright
Tasting notes: Mandarin, lemon myrtle and bergamot
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.

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.