Colombia
José Ignacio Gómez
Geisha From Finca Los ángeles

A scrumptious washed Geisha lot from the Nariño region. We find notes of lemonade, passionfruit and mango.

Washed process Gesha

Flavour: lemonade, passionfruit and mango

Body: Acidity:

Colombia. José Ignacio Gómez. Geisha. Washed. Need to know anything else?

VERY SPECIAL

Here we usually explain why we chose X or Y coffee for the latest VS subscription delivery. But whenever we feature a Geisha, it feels like not much description is needed; almost everybody knows that this varietal is extremely select, very tricky to grow but incredibly rewarding in flavour.

This washed lot from José Ignacio Gómez demonstrates why Geisha has some hype. It’s clean, it’s complex, it’s delicately nuanced. In fact, it ranked #20 at the Colombia 2022 Cup of Excellence.

This VS is top of the game—basically a soft drink in coffee form.

ABOUT JOSÉ

José Ignacio Gómez is a familiar name for us. We featured a lot of Caturra and another lot of Geisha some years ago (the latter won Caravela’s Colombia’s Got Talent fun competition in 2020).

He is a second-generation producer who learned everything about coffee from his dad. In 2002 he purchased his own farm, El Paraíso, and began producing commodity-grade coffee. A few years later, he dipped a toe into the specialty market, attracted by the higher financial reward and technical challenge. As he earned experience within the production side, he also learned how to cup and analyse, trying to understand how changes in the harvest and process would affect his coffee flavour profile.

José has become a respected member of the Nariño coffee-producing community. He co-founded the Cooperativa de Cafés Especiales de Nariño, a cooperative organisation to help its members market their outstanding coffees. He is also a constant appearance in the yearly Cup of Excellence rankings.

ABOUT LOS ÁNGELES

Finca Los Ángeles is a parallel project that José runs alongside part of his family. It’s located not far from El Paraíso, in the municipality of Buesaco, Nariño, Colombia.

4 out of the 6 hectares of this farm are dedicated to growing coffee—mainly Geisha varietal. This varietal, known for its delicate care requirements, works very well here thanks to the altitude, climate, and José’s hard-earned experience. He started to work with Geisha in 2013, and after adapting some methods, he realised its great potential and performance.

Aside from producing a high volume of the highest standard of specialty coffee, Los Ángeles is an experimental centre where the team investigates and tests constantly.

ABOUT GEISHA

Geisha (also sometimes spelled Gesha) is a varietal known for its exceptional cupping quality but also for its susceptibility to diseases and low yield.

“This variety was originally collected from coffee forests in Ethiopia in the 1930s. From there, it was sent to the Lyamungu research station in Tanzania, and then brought to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Central America in the 1953, where it was logged as accession T2722. It was distributed throughout Panama via CATIE in the 1960s after it had been recognised for tolerance to coffee leaf rust. However, the plant’s branches were brittle and not favored by farmers so it was not widely planted. The coffee came to prominence in 2005 when the Peterson family of Boquete, Panama, entered it into the "Best of Panama” competition and auction. It received exceptionally high marks and broke the then-record for green coffee auction prices, selling for over $20/pound.

[…]It is associated with extremely high cup quality when the plants are managed well at high altitude, and is known for its delicate floral, jasmine, and peach-like aromas.

The spellings Geisha and Gesha are often used interchangeably, relating to the fact that there is no set translation from the dialects of Ethiopia to English.“
Source: World Coffee Research

ABOUT THIS LOT’S PROCESS

While the typical washed process is simple, it is done with the utmost care and attention. Combined with the properties given by the growing environment, results in a clean, sweet and floral brew.

After being roasted lightly on our Loring, we find notes of lemonade, passionfruit and mango, with a super light body and balanced acidity.

Time to brew and have a good time. Check out our brewing recipes and notes, add yours or talk to us via email/Instagram about tips and guidance. Enjoy!

All the images and information about this coffee and its producers have been kindly shared by the importer, Cofinet, and edited by us, Sample Coffee (unless linked to or credited otherwise).

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: José Ignacio Gómez
Country: Colombia
Region: Buesaco, Nariño
Altitude: 1890m above sea level
Variety: Gesha
Process: washed
Harvested: October 2022
Importer: Cofinet
Body: Light
Acidity: Medium
Tasting notes: Lemonade, passionfruit and mango
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 Nariño region of Colombia

One of the highest growing regions in Colombia, producing some truly complex coffees

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.