Guatemala — Raul Perez Finca El Llano Geisha (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🌸 Jasmine • 🍈 Grapefruit • 🍋 Lemonade

DETAILS

• Producer: Raul Perez (Perez family)
• Farm: El Llano
• Region: Acatenango, Guatemala
• Varietal: Geisha
• Process: Washed
• Elevation: 1,600 masl
• Price Paid: $44.71 USD/kg

INTRO
A third harvest working with Raul, the Perez family, and their wonderful Geishas. Intensely floral and clean — distinct jasmine notes meet a balanced grapefruit-like citric acidity, with a lingering lemonade sweetness. In the cup: jasmine, grapefruit, and lemonade.

THE PRODUCER
The Perez family uses a traditional washed method for all their coffees, with everything done manually from picking to drying. They've also been experimenting with different fermentations to push flavour profiles further, and recently built a new on-site lab allowing them to cup all their coffees directly at the farm. Raul is a pioneering producer passionately interested in innovation, quality, and sustainability. El Llano spans 45 hectares in the shadow of the Fuego volcano, alongside another 45 hectares of natural forest reserve.

Geisha was originally collected from coffee forests in Ethiopia in the 1930s, sent to the Lyamungu research station in Tanzania, then brought to CATIE in Central America in 1953, where it was logged as accession T2722. It was distributed through Panama via CATIE in the 1960s for its coffee leaf rust tolerance, though not widely planted due to brittle branches — until the Peterson family's 2005 Best of Panama entry broke the then-record for green coffee auction prices at over $20 per pound. Genetic analysis by World Coffee Research has since confirmed that Panamanian Geisha descending from T2722 is distinct and uniform, associated with extremely high cup quality and delicate floral, jasmine, and peach-like aromas.

THE PROCESS
This lot is Washed, a method that removes the fruit before fermentation and drying — allowing Geisha's naturally intense floral character to come through with clarity, built on the Perez family's fully manual, hands-on approach at every stage.

THE CUP
Intensely floral and clean — distinct jasmine notes lead, with a balanced grapefruit-like citric acidity and a lingering lemonade sweetness. Light body, floral yet sweet finish.

Flavour Notes
🌸 Jasmine 🍈 Grapefruit 🍋 Lemonade