This week, we are excited to introduce 2 new South American Geshas, one washed and one natural from 2 different outstanding producers. Dwight Aguilar, a 2 time CoE winner in Cusco, Peru who's work speaks for itself, and Fredy Orantes of Buena Vista in Guatemala, a beautifully harmonious landscape where natural agroforestry techniques allow the varietal to thrive. 2 intensely fruited and lively cups in their own unique ways here, and we hope you enjoy brewing them side by side!
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Guatemala Fredy Orantes Gesha Natural:
In the town of Santa Rosa in the Fraijanes region of Guatemala lies Buena Vista, a beautiful landscape spanning 7 hectares at 1870masl. The owner of Buena Vista, Fredy Orantes, is a true leader in specialty coffee in the region and takes a great deal of care in the management of his land, relying on natural agroforestry techniques, native shade trees, and natural fertilizer made from composting coffee pulp and other organic materials. This same level of care is applied to picking, processing and drying as well. This naturally processed gesha started with 100% ripe red cherry before being floated to remove defects and placed on raised drying beds. This harvest season was particularly cool, so the coffees had to be turned very regularly, being laid out and mixed each day at 10am and 2pm to ensure even drying during the hottest hours. After 25-30 days, the coffee was depulped and transferred to the dry mill where it was further sorted by density and the parchment was removed for export. This immense amount of effort shows clearly in the final cup, with a deeply sweet red currant note, followed by a burst of yellow florals like dandelion and then cooling into a peachy stonefruit acidity, with a lingering body that reminds us of Iron Goddess oolong tea.
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Dwight Aguilar Red Gesha Washed:
Dwight Aguilar and his partner Dyana Mellado started Finca Nueva Alianza in 2012. At 1,900masl with mineral rich soil, it was a perfect entry point at a time when the Peruvian coffee market was booming. By 2017, Dwight had made a connection with a coffee Three Monkeys Coffee Company, who collaborated with him to further develop processing and sorting protocols for a special lot that they would go on to enter in Peru's Cup of Excellence. Fast forward to today, Dwight's coffee is very well known for its high quality standards and they have gone on to win 2 different CoE competitions. Processing at Finca Nueva Alianza is very standardized and meticulous, starting with a 24hr held-in-cherry step, then being fully depulped and laid out to dry bulk ferment for 36 hours without mucilage. After this, it is dried on raised beds for 20 days. In the cup, we find a juicy red dragonfruit note, with tropical undertones of pineapple and a cleaner apricot note. As it cools, we get a ton of Fuji apple sweetness alongside a complex florality with jasmine and bergamot.