Gabriel Espinoza Nariño Geisha FW

Gabriel Espinoza grew up around coffee production. Today, he lives with his wife and their 2 children in their house on Finca La Loma.

After purchasing Finca La Loma in 2007, he began planting Geisha, the coveted high-scoring coffee variety, in 2016. The high altitude of Finca La Loma – 1,920 meters above sea level – provide prime conditions for cultivating the delicate Geisha.

To improve coffee quality and protect the environment, Gabriel recycles coffee pulp into organic compost.

In addition to coffee, Gabriel and his family also cultivate plantains, avocados and oranges. They also maintain a forest preserve.

Gabriel hires additional labor to help the family selectively handpick ripe cherry during the harvest. Then, Gabriel pulps ripe cherry and ferments it for approximately 20 hours. He washes parchment in clean water and lays it to dry on his drying patio. He rakes parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 18 days for parchment to dry.

Gabriel plans to build a warehouse on the farm to protect coffee quality. His plans have been delayed by problems accessing finance, but he remains optimistic that he’ll be able to build it in the future.

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.

The Nariño department sits in the far south of Colombia. It borders Ecuador and the high Andean peaks. Its closeness to the equator enables coffee cultivation at very high altitudes. Many farms are located at heights surpassing 2,000 meters above sea level. 

While coffee growing is not traditionally seen at such high altitudes, it is possible in Nariño thanks to plenty of sunlight, dependable and frequent rainfall, and rich soils. Furthermore, the landscape helps ensure nights do not get too cold for growing cherry. The heat that accumulates in the bottom of canyons rises into the mountains at night, protecting cherry from the extreme nighttime cold that comes with such a high altitude.

There are no less than three volcanoes in the Cordillera Occidental, a branch of the Andes mountains in Colombia. These volcanoes reach altitudes as high as 4,700 meters above sea level. While volcanic activity can sometimes present hazards to life and coffee farming, the rich volcanic soil full of nutrients provides an excellent growing medium for coffee plants. The nutrients, combined with lower temperatures helps to slowly form coffee fruits and concentrate their sugars. The result is complex, sweet and acidic coffees.