Finca 1890 – California GeishaYeast Washed - Carpinteria, CA

Some geisha’s lean floral and some lean fruity. This one from Finca 1890 in Santa Barbara County is very much the latter, with a beautifully syrupy body carrying lush fruited tones reminiscent of pomegranate, cherry, and raspberry. It’s a complex coffee that reminds us of a deep, comforting red wine, like a Syrah—a fact echoed in a distinctly chocolatey and spiced finish with notes of Saigon cinnamon.

This coffee was selectively hand-picked at peak ripeness, floated to remove defects, then inoculated with Saccharomyces Cerevisiae yeast and cold fermented for 72 hours. After fermentation, it was washed and sun dried over 11 days until it achieved a stable moisture level below 11%. The parchment coffee was then milled, classified, and meticulously hand-sorted to meet SCA green grading standards.

Finca 1890 is located in the hills above Carpinteria, a beach town south of Santa Barabra. Like all of our farms, it benefits from unusual growing conditions: Just 200 feet above sea level and also 10 degrees north of the Tropic of Cancer. These factors combined with the coastal microclimate combine to create an environment similar to high elevation farms in the tropics.

Geisha, or more specifically Gesha, comes from the Gori-Gesha forest in Ethiopia. First collected in the 1930s, it became world famous when it broke price records at the Best of Panama auction in 2004. Today it remains one of the most sought-after coffee varietals in the world thanks to its exotic aromatics and refined cup character, which are both on full display in this Californian expression.