Honey processing draws out fruit-accented sweetness in this Gesha coffee, with tropical hints, passion fruit and guava, rustic dried date, and fragrant aromatics that offer both floral highlights and intriguing resinous notes. City to City+.
This is our third, and final Gesha coffee from Guardian del Bosque. It's a honey processed lot, which means the coffee seeds were dried with some of the fruit flesh still intact. Honeys are often fruited, though less-so than a full dry process coffee. We found this lot showed delicious dried fruit and tropical accents, with a fragrant aroma that delivers some of the perfumed floral aspects that we attribute to Gesha coffee. The grinds were accented by notes of pulpy orange and cooked pear, with soft wine-like accents, and raw sugars backing things up. Floral highlights begin to take shape in the wet aroma, and fruity aspects brought to mind fragrant flowers like gardenia and rose. There's also a nice fruited dimension layered with attractive bittersweet notes. City roasts brew fragrant flavors both fruited and floral, with something resinous and intriguing as it cools. Cup flavors have a retronasal element that draws out perfumed profiles of tropical fruits, passion fruit and guava, as well as some more rustic dried fruit types, like apricot and date. The aroma also shows floral hints of sweet pea and jasmine pearls, along with a complex note of amber resin. The acidity is fairly integrated into the cup profile, more rounded than sharp, like sweet orange. Best to stick to light roast here, City/City+ maximum. It's a very sweet cup at medium roast levels too, but loses much of the volatile aromatics that make it so unique.
"Guardian del Bosque" is the name of the farm owned by Ronal Carranza Montenegro. His 11.5 hectare farm sits at 1600 meters above sea level, and is planted in several different coffee varieties, including Gesha. This underwent a honey process method that involves leaving some of the fruit intact with the seed during the drying phase. This extended time in contact with the fruit after picking certainly plays a large role in the fruit flavors tasted in the cup. It still shows delicate floral character too, which is not always the case for honey and natural Gesha coffees. Ronal is a longtime member of a local coffee cooperative, Asociación de Productores Cafetaleros Juan Marco El Palto ("JUMARP"), whose work involves provide technical assistance at the farm level, like post harvest processing best practices, and improvements to processing environment and drying space. The coop have also helped this group achieve organic and fair trade certifications, which insures a premium price is paid for their coffee. Ronal plays around with different process methods, and this year we bought wet process, honey process, and dry process versions of his Gesha coffee. Each process brings its own unique flavors, with this dry process lot bringing out plump fruits and a fragrant floral aroma.
| Region | Gracias a Dios, Lonya Grande, Amazonas |
|---|---|
| Processing | Honey Process |
| Drying Method | Raised Bed, Covered |
| Arrival date | Jan 2026 |
| Lot size | 5 |
| Bag size | 69 KG |
| Packaging | GrainPro Liner |
| Certifications |
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| Cultivar Detail | Gesha |
| Grade | SHB |
| Appearance | .4 d/300gr, 15-17 Screen |
| Roast Recommendations | City to City+ |
| Type | Organic/Fair Trade Cert. |