Panama — Carlos Franceschi & Jean Paul Langenstein, Franceschi Coffee Gesha (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍊 Navel Orange • 🌼 Honeysuckle • 🍵 White Tea

DETAILS

• Producer: Carlos Aguilera Franceschi & Jean Paul Langenstein
• Farm: Franceschi Coffee, Volcán
• Region: Volcán, Chiriquí, Panama
• Varietal: Geisha
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,600–1,800 MASL
• Lot: Lot 232
• Size: 4oz (114g)

INTRO

This washed Geisha from Franceschi Coffee is a refined expression of Panamanian terroir. The classic process highlights clarity and brightness, allowing the variety's natural elegance to sing. Expect a bouquet of florals — honeysuckle and orange blossom — with delicate citrus tones reminiscent of navel orange and clementine cream. A tea-like body rounds out the cup, making it both distinguished and approachable.

THE PRODUCER

The Franceschi name has long been tied to the volcanic soils of Chiriquí. Carlos Aguilera Franceschi is the grandson of Efraín Franceschi, the visionary who founded Carmen Estate in the 1960s. Under the family's stewardship, Carmen Estate grew into one of Panama's most acclaimed farms, producing Geisha lots that helped define the country's reputation on the global stage.

In recent years, the family chose to sell Carmen Estate to a large overseas buyer. For Carlos, this was not an ending — it was a chance to begin again on his own terms. Together with his friend and business partner Jean Paul Langenstein, he created Franceschi Coffee, a project rooted in Volcán. Rather than managing a massive estate, Carlos and Jean Paul turned their focus towards smaller, carefully managed plots where only Geisha is cultivated, also collaborating with neighbouring farmers to source select cherry for meticulous co-processing.

The result is a farm project that blends heritage with a new, more intimate vision — applying everything Carlos learned at Carmen Estate to artisanal lots that let the purity of Geisha and the volcanic terroir shine through.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Franceschi Coffee involves:

• 🍒 Selective Harvest — Only ripe cherry is hand-picked from the volcanic hillsides of Volcán
• 🔧 Depulping — Cherry is mechanically depulped to remove the outer fruit skin
• 💧 Fermentation — Seeds ferment in tanks to loosen the remaining mucilage
• 💧 Washing — Coffee is thoroughly washed with clean water
• ☀️ Drying — Seeds are dried on raised beds in the dry mountain air of Chiriquí
• ✅ Quality Control — Lots are carefully sorted and assessed before export

This clean, controlled approach preserves the clarity of the Geisha variety's floral and citrus character.

THE CUP

Lot 232 delivers the archetypal Panamanian Geisha experience: translucent clarity, pristine florals, and a brightness that lingers like a citrus bloom. White tea body and honeysuckle aromatics frame navel orange acidity in a cup that is simultaneously delicate and memorable.

Flavour Notes

• 🍊 Navel Orange
• 🌼 Honeysuckle
• 🍵 White Tea