This is a new Gesha separation from producer Oscar Garcia, and our first year purchasing this lot. In the cup we find a fruit-forward expression of the Gesha variety, with notes of lychee, pomegranate, and jasmine. Oscar Garcia is a new producer for us this year as we continue developing our sourcing project in southern Huila. Gesha’s spread across the coffee-growing world has provided an exciting opportunity to taste this variety through the lens of unique microclimates and terroirs. We look forward to visiting Oscar next year and exploring even more Geshas from San Agustín. Gesha was originally collected from the coffee forests of Ethiopia in the 1930’s. From there, it was sent to the Lyamungo 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 1960’s after its tolerance to coffee leaf rust was recognized. However, it was not widely planted because the plant’s branches were brittle and not favored by farmers. Gesha 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 per pound. Since then, the variety has become a resounding favorite of brewing and roasting competition winners and coffee enthusiasts alike.