This year we had the privilege of traveling to Finca Nuguo with José Gallardo to select this extremely small 15kg lot—an experience that challenged our ideas of what coffee can be. In the cup we find an intensely floral profile of jasmine and rose, Meyer lemon, and bergamot, with a slightly tropical finish. We have looked up to José Gallardo since the very beginning of our journey in coffee, and it is a dream come true to finally secure a small lot from him. Jose is highly respected throughout the coffee world, and his coffees have been featured on the global stage many times. Every lot he produces reflects an extraordinary level of care and precision. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with him and hopeful this marks the beginning of an ongoing relationship with one of the world’s most exceptional producers. Gesha was originally collected from coffee forests of Ethiopia in the 1930's. From there, it was sent to the Lyamungo Research Station in Tanzania, and then brought to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Central America in the 1953, where it was logged as accession T2722. It was distributed throughout Panama via CATIE in the 1960’s after its tolerance to coffee leaf rust was recognized. However, it was not widely planted because the plant's branches were brittle and not favored by farmers. Gesha came to prominence in 2005, when the Peterson family of Boquete, Panama, entered it into the Best of Panama competition and auction. It received exceptionally high marks and broke the then-record for green coffee auction prices, selling for over $20 per pound. Since then, the variety has become a resounding favorite of brewing and roasting competition winners and coffee enthusiasts alike.