ICON 59 - La Fortuna, Gesha Honey

This honey processed Gesha comes from Finca La Fortuna ("The Fortune"), a farm dedicated exclusively to Gesha cultivation. Situated at approximately 1,600 metres, this stunning farm benefits from rich volcanic black soil, fresh water springs, surrounding mountain forests and a light mist which creates a magical atmosphere. Native trees including guava, cuellito, cedar, cenizos, higueron, and poro, grow throughout the farm, providing the coffee plants below with abundant nutrients and shade. The coffees produced here truly capture and express this natural essence.

The processing method for this lot follows a precise, meticulously executed protocol. Ripe cherries are hand-selected and placed in special bags for 14 hours to begin fermentation. After mechanical de-pulping, the beans are transferred to African beds to dry with some sticky fruit mucilage still attached. Sun-drying continues for up to 30 days with the sticky parchment coffee requiring regular stirring to reduce the risk of mould and allow even drying.

When the optimal moisture content of 11% is reached, the coffee is bagged and stored on pallets for up to 90 days, allowing it to stabilise and develop its full flavour potential.

Café Gran del Val boasts a rich legacy that spans four generations, seamlessly blending tradition with innovation. Founded in 1914, it embodies the Fernández family's unwavering dedication to coffee cultivation. With a commitment to excellence, they carefully nurture coffee across their renowned farms: Gladys, Gran Paraíso, La Bruja, and La Fortuna.

The estate is nestled in the mountains of Boquete, at an altitude of up to 1,600 meters above sea level. Enriched by fertile volcanic soil, a cool climate, and a year-round light drizzle known as "bajareque," it benefits from an ideal microclimate that fosters the production of exceptional specialty coffee.

As dedicated coffee producers, they are committed to environmental sustainability and social welfare. In 1997, Cafetalera Fernández established Panama's first ecological coffee mill, earning certifications from the Rainforest Alliance New York and Hiro Coffee Japan.

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 pulped natural, honey or semi-washed process falls between washed and natural methods in terms of fruit left on the seed during drying. After harvesting, the cherries are pulped to remove the skin, then dried with the sticky fruit mucilage remaining—hence the name "honey." The coffee is sometimes classified by the colour it turns during drying, which depends on how much fruit remains and how it's arranged and turned. Colours range from black honey (darkest) through red, yellow, and sometimes white. More fruit on the seed provides more fuel for fermentation, which can unpredictably affect the flavour profile. However, it usually yields more intense fruit flavours than washed coffee and higher perceived acidity than natural processing.