ICON 45 – Daterra Masterpiece, Confluência Yellow Gesha

Each year, Daterra hold an auction for their top lots, which is always one of the most anticipated dates on our calendar. In their own words: “They allow us to be creative and find new ways to tell stories through coffee. This year, we are telling our own history.”

To celebrate their 30th anniversary, this auction was an homage to their history with each lot being named after a milestone for the farm.

Lot 2023 Confluência (Confluence) marks 30 years of coffee production, 20 years of The Penta Process®. Penta Pack® and the Daterra Menu, and 10 years since their first auction. These milestones are the result of a lot of hard work, and it’s Daterra’s long-term commitment to innovation which has paid off so remarkably.

The The Penta Process® is a five stage methodology for producing the best possible coffees, beginning with planting, through harvesting, separation, drying and finally sorting. The best lots are then packaged using Penta Pack®, an internationally patented system consisting of two 12.1kg inert gas flushed and vacuum packed foil bags inside a sturdy box.

Originally from Southern Ethiopia and named after the village where it was identified, the first Gesha seeds arrived in the Americas via Panama in the 1960s. This variety was studied by the The Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) to assess its performance in the climactic conditions of Brazil. As well as cultivating this variety on their own farms, IAC also distributed it to selected research partners which is how it arrived at Daterra. They have been studying this variety since 2014 and it has only recently been available commercially.

Whole ripe cherries are placed inside a stainless steel fermentation tank equipped with a one-way airlock valve which allows oxygen to escape. As the cherries ferment, CO2 is produced which pushes the less dense oxygen out of the tank, creating an anaerobic atmosphere after just a few hours. This creates the perfect conditions for anoxic fermentation, allowing specific microorganisms to metabolise and enzymatic reactions to occur within the seeds.

Once the fermentation is complete, the cherries are dried whole like a regular natural. Much care is taken to keep the coffee moving regularly to promote even drying and avoid mould formation whilst the fruit is still moist.