ICON 53 - Álvaro Andrés Roldán Flor, La Parsela Gesha

Last November, Forest (an exporting company we work with) invited us on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture and Banexport to participate in a regional coffee auction. While the renowned Cup of Excellence competition had run in previous years, this year they opted for separate auctions in each coffee-producing department. This change came due to steep commission increases and challenges in running quality competitions in regions with varying harvest periods throughout the year. The new model benefits producers by lowering barriers to entry—no more minimum lot sizes or large sample requirements—and ensures more auction proceeds go directly to them.

The auction we attended was in Cauca, a region traditionally known for sugar production. In recent years, some western areas have seen coca replace coffee due to coastal access that appeals to narcos. Despite being illegal, coca attracts farmers because it yields crops quarterly rather than annually, requires less labour-intensive harvesting and processing, and offers quick cash returns. Nevertheless, outstanding coffees flourish in this region, including traditional varieties like Caturra, Castillo, and Colombia, alongside exotic varieties like Gesha and Bourbon Rosado.

The auction was held in Argelia, a town nestled in a valley surrounded by lush green mountains where several guerrilla groups operate. Choosing this location made a powerful statement about coffee's potential as a financially viable and profitable crop. After spending two days cupping in Popayán**,** we travelled to Argelia—under Colombian military escort—to re-cup the top 20 lots and bid on our favourites.

This lot placed 5th overall but emerged as our absolute favourite in the auction, thanks to its delightful florality, complexity, and depth of flavour. We were so impressed that we found ourselves in a seemingly endless bidding war with a Middle Eastern buyer. We're thrilled to have won this lot and proud to present the exceptional work of Álvaro Andrés Roldán Flor.

The story of Álvaro's lot begins with the meticulous selection of Gesha coffee cherries—one of the world's most prized coffee varieties, celebrated for its delicate florals, vibrant acidity, and refined complexity. Grown at high altitudes, this coffee underwent a washed processing method to highlight its crisp, clean profile while preserving the intricate flavours unique to this variety.

The carefully handpicked, perfectly ripe cherries are first floated to remove defects, then undergo an extensive triple de-pulping process. This method ensures only the highest-quality beans continue to fermentation.

The de-pulped coffee enters a 24-hour fermentation phase in blue tanks, where Brix and pH levels are closely monitored. This controlled process enhances the coffee's natural sweetness and refines its acidity, yielding a cup with exceptional clarity and balance.

After fermentation, the coffee is dried on raised beds for 720 hours under a blue polycarbonate ceiling. This setup regulates temperature and moisture levels, ensuring slow, even drying that preserves the coffee's delicate fruity and floral characteristics while preventing quality-compromising over-drying.

Finally, the beans rest for 30 days in GrainPro bags for stabilization. This crucial step allows the flavours to fully mature, producing a well-rounded, expressive cup with a long-lasting finish.

Álvaro Andrés Roldán Flor was born on July 25, 1995, in Cajibío, Cauca. Coffee has always been part of his family's history—his grandmother was a coffee grower, and her passion for coffee inspired him to follow in her footsteps. In 2008, at just 13 years old, he began working with coffee, eager to learn everything about cultivation and processing. Over the years, he has dedicated himself to improving his farm, La Parselita, refining his methods to enhance quality.

Today, Álvaro works alongside his cousin, who helps him manage different tasks on the farm. With unwavering family support, he continuously seeks to innovate, experimenting with different processes and techniques to elevate his coffee.

Situated at 1,900 to 1,950 meters above sea level, La Parselita spans 15 hectares, with five hectares dedicated to coffee cultivation. The farm grows a diverse range of varieties, including Gesha, Caturra, Typica, Castillo, Borbón Rosado, and exotic varietals like Guayaba, Herecta, Laurina, and Mocca. His strategic planting technique—spacing coffee trees at 0.80m by 3m—allows for optimal growth and productivity.

The farm benefits from native shade trees, including Nogal Cafetero and Guama, which help regulate temperature and enhance coffee quality. Álvaro's goal is to continue perfecting his coffee processing techniques. He is passionate about learning and constantly seeks knowledge to refine his approach. His dream is to innovate within specialty coffee, ensuring that every batch he produces meets the highest quality standards.

When Álvaro processed his first batch of coffee, it developed a phenol defect—a lesson that pushed him to study coffee processing more deeply. Since then, he has meticulously followed best practices to ensure excellence in every harvest. His precision and attention to detail set him apart as a dedicated and forward-thinking coffee producer.

Gesha is a coffee variety originally collected from Ethiopian forests in the 1930s. It was sent to the Lyamungu research station in Tanzania, then brought to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Central America in 1953, where it was logged as accession T2722. Recognized for its tolerance to coffee leaf rust, CATIE distributed it widely throughout Panama in the 1960s. However, farmers didn't favor it due to its brittle branches and relatively low yield, so it wasn't widely planted.

There are actually multiple genetically distinct plant types referred to as Gesha, many sharing similar Ethiopian origins. World Coffee Research has confirmed that the Panamanian Gesha descendant of T2722 is a distinct and uniform variety. When managed well at high altitude, its cup profile can be phenomenal, known for delicate floral and peach aromas.

The lack of a standard translation from Ethiopian dialects to English has resulted in two interchangeably used spellings. The coffee was originally collected near a mountain commonly rendered in English as "Gesha." However, it was first recorded in germplasm records as "Geisha," a spelling mostly maintained by coffee researchers and germplasm banks for decades. The use of "Geisha" is problematic, though, as its non-coffee context carries specific connotations that many feel have been misappropriated for marketing value.

Gesha's global reputation was cemented by the Peterson family of Boquete. Their Hacienda Esmeralda won the Best of Panama competition in 2004 with this variety. The following year, their Gesha received exceptionally high marks and broke the then-record for green coffee auction prices, selling for over $20/pound.

The washed process was designed to minimize the risk of off-flavours caused by uncontrolled fermentation during the natural process. Cherries are typically sorted using a flotation tank, where under-ripe or defective fruits float to the top and can be removed. The remaining cherries are then pulped and left in a tank to ferment until the sticky fruit mucilage is soft enough to be washed off the parchment—a paper-like layer surrounding the seed.

The design and cleanliness of the tanks are crucial, and the degree and speed of fermentation depend on various factors. These include the amount of fruit remaining, the presence of bacteria and yeasts, whether the tank is filled with water, and the environmental conditions.

Once the mucilage has sufficiently degraded, it's washed away with water. The remaining parchment coffee, as it's commonly called, is then dried until it reaches a safe moisture content. The bacteria-rich and sugary water used in the process must be treated carefully, as it can cause algae blooms if it enters streams and rivers.

In situations where large amounts of coffee are processed in bulk, such as in Ethiopia, some operations have found it economical to use a mechanical demucilager. This device removes all the fruit from the parchment with minimal water, bypassing the fermentation stage entirely. However, some believe this leads to a reduction in cup quality, as many flavour precursors are created through fermentation.