Bolivia — Los Rodríguez Family Finca Alasitas Geisha (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🌸 Florals • 🌼 Lemon Blossom • 🍵 White Tea

DETAILS

• Producer: Los Rodríguez Family
• Farm: Finca Alasitas
• Mill: Agricafe Buena Vista / La Luna Dry Mill
• Region: Bolivia
• Varietal: Geisha
• Process: Washed (CO₂ Intracellular + Cultured Yeast Fermentation)
• Altitude: 1,650 MASL
• Size: 125g

INTRO

Four years into a relationship with the Los Rodríguez family, and the washed Geishas from Finca Alasitas remain the lots DAK look forward to most each year. Hand-selected on their annual visit, this is a coffee of exceptional floral delicacy and clean, tea-like elegance — florals lead, lemon blossom follows, and a long white tea finish completes a cup of quiet, assured refinement.

THE PRODUCER

The Rodríguez family farm Finca Alasitas at 1,650 MASL in Bolivia — one of South America's most compelling and underrepresented specialty origins. Bolivia's high-altitude Yungas region and its neighbouring growing areas create ideal conditions for slow cherry development and aromatic complexity, but logistical challenges and limited infrastructure have historically kept the country's finest lots from reaching the international market at scale. The Rodríguez family's partnership with Agricafe — one of Bolivia's most respected export and processing operations — bridges that gap, giving their Geisha the infrastructure and expertise it deserves.

Geisha, first collected from the forests of Ethiopia in the 1930s and brought to global prominence at the 2005 Best of Panama competition, finds a compelling home in Bolivia's high-altitude Andean growing conditions — where the cool temperatures, volcanic soils, and slow cherry development allow the variety's hallmark florality and delicate complexity to express themselves with full precision and elegance.

THE PROCESS

The Washed CO₂ Intracellular Fermentation process involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Geisha cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness ⚖️ Sorting & disinfection — Cherries delivered to Agricafe's Buena Vista mill, weighed, sorted by weight, and disinfected in La Maravilla — the Rodríguez family's own sorting machine 🔒 Sealed tank fermentation — Whole cherries fermented in sealed stainless steel tanks for 48 hours under controlled temperature and pH, with CO₂ building up under the closed lids to drive an intracellular fermentation 🧫 Cultured yeast addition — Fermentation lead Adrián Silva added a measured dose of cultured yeast and mossto to direct flavour development, with tanks kept sealed throughout to preserve the aromatic compounds 💧 Washing — Thoroughly washed after fermentation to remove all residue 🌬️ Guardiola drying — Dried for 110 hours in a guardiola (mechanical drum dryer) to bring moisture to an intermediate level 🥥 Coco dryer finishing — Finished on Agricafe's coco dryers to a stable 11.5% humidity 🔍 Final hand sorting — Sorted by hand under UV and natural light at Agricafe's La Luna dry mill

The CO₂ intracellular fermentation is the defining step — by sealing whole cherries in tanks and allowing CO₂ to build under the lids, the process drives fermentation from inside the bean itself, building the extraordinary floral and lemon blossom aromatic complexity that defines this lot, while the sealed environment keeps every volatile aromatic compound trapped and preserved throughout.

THE CUP

A beautifully refined and deeply floral washed Geisha from one of Bolivia's most carefully processed specialty operations — florals lead with exceptional delicacy, lemon blossom follows with clean brightness, and a long white tea finish lingers with quiet elegance. Four years of relationship, and still the one DAK look forward to most.

Flavour Notes

🌸 Florals 🌼 Lemon Blossom 🍵 White Tea