José Gallardo is one of the most revered producers in Panama. His coffees are featured throughout the competition world and achieve some of the highest scores year after year in the Best of Panama. This is an extremely small 16kg lot from a single harvest pass. In the cup we find an intensely floral profile of jasmine and rose, Meyer lemon, and bergamot, with a slightly tropical finish. Gesha was originally collected from 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. We have looked up to Jose Gallardo since the beginning of our journey in coffee, and are ecstatic to finally be able to secure a small lot from him. This coffee, in many ways, is a dream come true. Jose is highly regarded throughout the coffee-growing world, and his coffees have been featured countless times on the global stage. Every lot he produces is exceptional with attention to detail second to none. We are exceedingly grateful for this opportunity and star-struck by the possibility of continuing to work with this incredible producer.