La Serranía Geisha Natural 

La Serranía is located in the region of El Progreso in the Mountain Range of Sierra de Las Minas, Guatemala. Pedro Fernández, who comes from a long line of coffee farmers, acquired the land and founded the farm in 1985. Since then, Pedro and his daughter, Maria Jose, continued to enhance the quality of their crop.  

As an experienced producer, Pedro oversees planting, agronomy and processing, while Maria focuses on marketing and exploring new processing methods. Beyond coffee production, the farm cultivates ornamental plants, including yucca and beaucarnea (ponytail palm) and pine trees, and produces cardamom, all managed with a strong commitment to ethical and sustainable practices.  

Conserving these natural resources is one of Pedro’s greatest priorities, which he hopes to pass on to future generations. Throughout the property, untouched corridors of native vegetation help preserve local biodiversity and protect crystal-clear springs for the local fauna.  

This 100% Geisha Natural lot carries La Serranía’s beauty, characterized by a bright, clean profile with prominent tropical fruit notes and an exceptional sweetness and balance.  

At elevations ranging from 1,400 to 1,600 meters above sea level, Pedro and Maria primarily cultivate Catuai, Geisha, Maragogype, K7, Villa Sarchi and Pacamara in clay-loam soils. They also cultivate the very rare ‘Kimono’ variety – a naturally occurring hybrid first discovered at the farm that is a cross between Maragogype and Catuai. The Kimono was given it’s name due to the long, leafy branches that trail towards the ground, which the Serrania team though resembled a Japanese kimono.

The farm is situated in a rainforest environment that provides a unique microclimate, due to the descendent cold and humid air from Sierra de Las Minas in the evenings and warm ascendant winds from the river Motagua’s valley during the day.  

Most of the farms are planted with pine (Pinus maximinoi) and Inga trees, which provide shade for the coffee plants while contributing organic matter that serves as a natural fertilizer and helps prevent soil erosion. 

For this Natural lot, ripe cherries are selectively handpicked and carefully sorted to ensure optimal quality. Selected cherries are then evenly spread on raised beds to dry, though patios are also frequently used. 

Geisha (also known as Gesha) is known for its exceptional cup quality, especially when grown at high altitudes. The variety comes from Ethiopian landrace coffees and was collected from Ethiopian coffee forests in the 1930s. The name supposedly derives from Ethiopia’s Gori Gesha forest.

There is some confusion with several genetically distinct varieties that have all been called Geisha, but the most famous variety is the Panama one. The variety was brought to Lyamungu research station in Tanzania and from there to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Central America in 1953. At CATIE, the variety was logged as T2722. CATIE distributed T2722 across Panama in the 1960s for its Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) resistance, but its brittle branches meant it was not widely planted.

Panama Geisha reached its modern fame in 2005 when a Geisha lot won the “Best of Panama” competition and broke contemporary records at over $20/pound. DNA analysis has demonstrated that the Panama Geisha descended from T2722 is distinct and uniform. Today, Geisha is known for its delicate florals, jasmine and stone fruit.