Coffee Expression A delicately perfumed washed Geisha; this lot unveils a wildly complex aromatic profile, with bright citrus, lemongrass and lavender balanced by deep caramel and stone fruit in the cup.
Producer Angel Manosalva Palomino farms this tiny 1.75 hectare plot high in the mountains of Cajamarca.
La Catarata
Angel Manosalva Palomino has always worked with coffee, but only started managing his own plot in 2020. La Catarata is located at 1950 masl, just outside the village of La Cascarilla, a short drive up into the mountains from Jaen, one of the coffee centres of the Cajamarca region. Angel took over management of a local landowner’s neglected plantation, with old and overgrown trees, but intact soils and ideal conditions for top quality. After hearing many local success stories, Angel made the decision to invest in the prized Geisha varietal, and aim for the highest quality.
Washed Geisha
The work here can be very detailed due to the artisanal scale; La Catarata is less than 2 hectares in area. After initial success managing the farm, Angel began to negotiate with the landlord to take over ownership of the farm. This process was completed in 2023, and with the future secured, Angel invested in 4000 further trees, completing his regeneration of the old plant stock. There are now nearly 8000 trees on this small plot, all of the Geisha varietal.
Angel’s attention to detail and dedication to quality, alongside the immense potential high in Cajamarca’s Andean spine, has led to one of the finest washed Geishas we have tasted in recent years. This lot unveils a wildly complex aromatic profile, with bright citrus, lemongrass and lavender balanced by deep caramel and stone fruit in the cup.
The Cup of Excellence
The Cup of Excellence started in Brazil at the turn of the century, initially designed to expand the country’s reputation for quality coffee. Farmers from across the country deliver a specific lot of coffee, which is then roasted, cupped and tasted by teams of national and international judges in order to find the finest lots of each harvest. The top lots are then auctioned off to buyers from around the world; assured of receiving the highest quality in their roastery. Since then, the Alliance for Coffee Excellence have expanded the format to other countries, creating connections between quality-focussed producers and roasters for over 20 years. The CoE was one of the drivers behind the early speciality coffee movement; enabling some of the first direct trade relationships, and using competition to encourage and unveil quality across the countries where it operates.
Members of our team have joined International Juries in the past, and we were prooud to secure this lot at auction, paying a price only 3 dollars from the highest price ever paid for a Peruvian coffee.
