Colombia | La Leona | Geisha Natural | Signature Series

Are you looking to buy Colombia | La Leona | Geisha Natural | Signature Series in Australia?

This coffee is in development / in transit. ETA JULY/AUGUST 2024

This coffee was grown by Luz Gelena Salazar at the farm La Leona. This coffee is harvested following strict ripeness criteria, floated and hand-sorted to remove defects. Cherries were then exposed to 30 hours of underwater fermentation before being pulped. The cherry was gently washed and dried in temperature-controlled conditions until ideal moisture content was achieved.

About Geisha Varietal

Geisha (also known as Gesha) is known for its exceptional cup quality, especially when grown at high altitudes. Geisha was first discovered in Abyssinia, Ethiopia in 1931. Geisha was planted in Panama for the first time in 1963 and in Colombia in 2005 -  The name supposedly derives from Ethiopia’s Gori Gesha forest.

There is some confusion with several genetically distinct varieties that have all been called Geisha, but the most famous variety is the Panama one. The variety was brought to Lyamungu research station in Tanzania and from there to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Central America in 1953. At CATIE, the variety was logged as T2722. CATIE distributed T2722 across Panama in the 1960s for its Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) resistance, but its brittle branches meant it was not widely planted.

Panama Geisha reached its modern fame in 2005 when a Geisha lot won the “Best of Panama” competition and broke contemporary records at over $20/pound. DNA analysis has demonstrated that the Panama Geisha descended from T2722 is distinct and uniform. Today, Geisha is known for its delicate florals, jasmine and stone fruit.

Coffee in Colombia

Colombia has been producing and exporting coffee renowned for their full body, bright acidity and rich aftertaste, since the early 19th century.

Colombia boasts a wide range of climates and geographic conditions that, in turn, produce their own unique flavors in coffee. This also means that harvest times can vary quite a bit. In fact, between all its different regions, Colombia produces fresh crop nearly all year round.

The increasing focus on the specialty industry is changing the way traders and farmers do business. It is becoming more common for farmers to isolate the highest quality beans in their lots to market separately. These higher-quality lots are often sold under specific brands or stories.

Besides its wide variety of cup profiles, Colombia has quickly expanded its certification options over the past 10 years. The most common certifications available are Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, UTZ and Organic.