Guatemala - Geisha Finca La Cabana

Nueva Santa Rosa is situated in the Santa Rosa department, which has a variety of beneficial microclimates that permit crops to express specialty-grade attributes in the cup. Only recently has it been acknowledged for its strong potential as a specialty coffee origin. The recognition first came when five Santa Rosa lots made it to the 2022 Cup of Excellence, even while it is outside the coffee-growing regions officially designated by the National Coffee Association (ANACAFE).

This predisposition as a terroir producing topnotch quality coffees was reaffirmed in 2023 when Geisha and Pacamara from Santa Rosa once more made it among the highest scoring lots at the Cup of Excellence.

Finca La Cabana is a family farm in its fourth generation. They have received several ANACAFE regional awards for their washed, honey, and natural processed coffees. Under the leadership of Isauro Solares, who is a certified Q Processing Level 2 Professional, they belonged among the 2019 Cup of Excellence National Winners. Finca La Cabana is also known for their sustainable coffee production practices, continued efforts to improve quality, and the supplemental employment they provide to community members with unstable jobs.

By collaborating with specialty coffee multi-hyphenate Raul Rodas — four-time Guatemala National Barista Champion, the World Barista Champion in 2012, and 2024 Guatemala National Brewer’s Cup Champion — also the founder of Paradigma Coffee Trading, Finca La Cabana gains insight into patterns of consuming trends in the international specialty coffee market.

This knowledge, gained through Raul’s constant and open communication across his network of world-class roasters, enables them to orient strategic and operational activities at the farm-level toward meeting and pro-actively anticipating consumers’ needs.

For Raul’s part too, he has resolved to be high-quality green coffee buyers’ “eyes, ears, and taste buds on the ground,” matching their requirements with the producers and farms in his dossier, to configure the right combination of specific varieties and processing methods that will construct the desired cup profiles.

The Geisha is a rare, delicate, and complex variety well-loved for its sweet florality and citrus highlights. Since its debut win at the Best of Panama auction in 2004, it has kept specialty coffee lovers everywhere captivated by its endless possibilities, delicacy, complexity, and clarity of flavors.

As such, the Geisha is often showcased on coffee competition stages by a great number of coffee champions, and it also continues to fetch the highest prices.

While the evolving taste preferences in specialty coffee consuming communities globally has spurred intentional experimentations in post-harvest processing involving iterations of natural and natural anaerobic fermentation — for instance utilizing extended fermentation times and yeast inoculation — to intensify fruited notes and sweetness while imparting a more viscous mouthfeel, the demand for the clean and transparent, yet complex, cup character of the Geisha endures.

Acclimatized to the Santa Rosa terroir and as a result of the washed process, La Cabana Geisha expresses delicate florality, crisp acidity, and subtle nutty sweetness enhanced by light tropical nuances.