Colombia — Café Granja La Esperanza, Las Margaritas, Geisha (Honey)

Tastes Like — 🌼 Chamomile • 🌿 Lemongrass • 🍓 Raspberry • 🍯 Flower Honey

DETAILS

• Producer: Rigoberto Herrera, Café Granja La Esperanza
• Farm: Las Margaritas
• Region: Valle del Cauca, Colombia
• Varietal: Geisha
• Process: Honey
• Altitude: 1,570–1,850 MASL
• Harvest: 2025
• Score: 88
• Size: 100g

INTRO

Las Margaritas [Geisha Honey] is a micro-lot of exceptional elegance from Café Granja La Esperanza. Rigoberto Herrera's meticulous Honey process on the Geisha variety produces a cup of remarkable sweetness and complexity — an opening of soothing chamomile and fresh lemongrass giving way to a bright, fruity raspberry acidity, before a long, suave finish of flower honey brings everything to a beautifully balanced close.

THE PRODUCER

Café Granja La Esperanza (cGLE) is a Colombian family estate founded in 1945 by Juan Antonio Herrera and Blanca Ligia Correa. Today led by their descendants Rigoberto and Luis Herrera, it has become a world reference in specialty coffee. Spanning multiple high-altitude farms in the Valle del Cauca — including Potosi, Cerro Azul, La Esperanza, and Las Margaritas — cGLE was a pioneer in introducing the Geisha variety to Colombia.

The estate is renowned for its rigorous craftsmanship, innovative processing methods (Honey, Natural, extended fermentations), and complex aromatic profiles. cGLE has also developed hybrid varieties such as the "Mandela" and runs programmes to strengthen both productivity, resilience, and cup quality across all its farms. Tradition, excellence, and social commitment unite in every cup.

THE PROCESS

The Honey process at Las Margaritas involves:

• 🍒 Selective Hand Picking — Only perfectly ripe Geisha cherries are harvested by hand
• 🔧 Controlled Pulping — The outer skin is removed whilst a measured layer of mucilage is intentionally retained on the bean
• ☀️ Raised Bed Drying — Beans are dried on African beds with regular turning and careful airflow management
• ✅ Quality Control — Meticulous selection at every stage to preserve lot integrity

The honey method at this altitude imparts a lush, honeyed sweetness that beautifully complements the Geisha variety's natural floral character without obscuring it.

THE CUP

A soothing, floral, and singularly expressive filter coffee. Chamomile and lemongrass open gently on the palate, giving way to the vibrant, fruity acidity of raspberry before a long, suave finish of flower honey brings the cup to a close. Clean, elegant, and uniquely memorable.

Flavour Notes

• 🌼 Chamomile
• 🌿 Lemongrass
• 🍓 Raspberry
• 🍯 Flower Honey