Colombia — Valle del Cauca, Las Margaritas

Weight: 200g, 100g or 80g

Cultivar: Gesha

Producer: Café Granja La Esperanza | CGLE

Farm: Las Margaritas

Elevation: 1,648–1,852 m.a.s.l.

Process: Washed

Tasting Notes: Jasmine • Blackberry • Stone Fruit

Why This Coffee Matters

The Las Margaritas Washed Gesha exemplifies Café Granja La Esperanza's philosophy that exceptional coffee begins with remarkable genetics and reaches its full potential through meticulous cultivation and disciplined processing. As part of CGLE's Singular Series, this lot offers a transparent expression of Gesha, where floral elegance, vibrant fruit, and refined sweetness remain at the forefront.

Rather than relying on intensive processing to shape the cup, this washed lot highlights the relationship between cultivar, terroir, and careful fermentation. The result is a coffee of remarkable clarity, balancing expressive aromatics with structure, sweetness, and a lingering finish.

For Ogni, this coffee represents the beauty of restraint—allowing one of the world's most celebrated cultivars to speak with precision and elegance while showcasing the craftsmanship that has made CGLE a benchmark for specialty coffee.

Producer Background

Café Granja La Esperanza (CGLE) is one of Colombia's most influential specialty coffee producers and a global leader in the cultivation of rare cultivars and innovative coffee production. Owned by the Herrera family, CGLE has spent decades developing exceptional coffees across its collection of farms in Valle del Cauca.

Their dedication to scientific cultivation, careful experimentation, and uncompromising quality has earned international recognition, with their coffees appearing regularly in Brewers Cup and World Barista Championship competitions. While the Competition Series showcases the estate's most exclusive microlots, the Singular Series presents outstanding coffees that combine exceptional quality with greater accessibility.

Las Margaritas has become one of CGLE's signature farms, renowned for producing Gesha, Sudan Rumé, Sidra, Laurina, Mandela, and other rare cultivars under carefully managed growing conditions.

About the Cultivar

Originally discovered in the Gesha forests of Ethiopia, Gesha has become the benchmark for exceptional specialty coffee due to its extraordinary aromatic complexity and refined cup profile.

When grown under ideal conditions, Gesha is celebrated for its:

• Exceptional floral aromatics
• Bright citrus character
• Elegant stone fruit sweetness
• Tea-like structure
• Silky mouthfeel
• Remarkable clarity and balance

At Las Margaritas, the combination of high elevation, careful cultivation, and precise processing produces a distinctly Colombian interpretation of Gesha—one that balances vibrant fruit with refined florals and exceptional sweetness.

About the Process

Washed

This coffee undergoes a carefully controlled washed process designed to preserve the natural expression of the Gesha cultivar.

Only fully ripe cherries are selected before being floated to remove lower-density fruit. The cherries first undergo approximately 18 hours of open-tank fermentation, after which they are depulped and fermented for an additional 24 hours in aerobic conditions. The remaining mucilage is then thoroughly washed away before drying.

The coffee is dried in mechanically controlled drying silos for 3–5 days at carefully regulated temperatures of approximately 38°C, before resting in climate-controlled storage to stabilize moisture and preserve cup quality.

This disciplined approach produces exceptional clarity, vibrant acidity, refined sweetness, and outstanding transparency in the cup.

Terroir

Las Margaritas is located near Caicedonia in Colombia's Valle del Cauca, one of the country's most celebrated regions for specialty coffee production.

The farm benefits from:

• Elevations of 1,648–1,852 meters
• Warm daytime temperatures balanced by cool mountain nights
• Approximately 2,267 mm of annual rainfall
• High relative humidity throughout the growing season
• Mountain terrain that encourages slow cherry maturation

These conditions promote excellent sugar development and produce coffees distinguished by:

• Floral elegance
• Bright, refined acidity
• Excellent bean density
• Complex aromatics
• Exceptional sweetness and balance

Brewing Recommendations

Excellent for:

★★★★★ V60

★★★★★ Origami

★★★★★ Orea

★★★★★ April Brewer

★★★★★ Kalita Wave

★★★★★ AeroPress

★★★★☆ Espresso

Its delicate florals and layered fruit are most expressive as a filter coffee, while a modern light espresso reveals remarkable sweetness, silky texture, and elegant citrus.

Suggested Starting Parameters

Ratio: 1:15–1:17

Water Temperature: 91–93°C

Grind: Medium-Fine

Drawdown: 2:30–3:30

Water Mineralization: 40–80 ppm