HYDRANGEA - La Estrella Anaerobic Gesha | Colombia - Anaerobic Washed - Gesha

Abstract

Aromatic and highly defined, this Gesha opens with jasmine before moving into juicy green grape and the bittersweet citrus of blood orange. Vivid acidity and clear flavor separation carry through a clean floral finish, with the washed process giving the fruit profile a precise, transparent structure.

About Finca La Estrella and Carlos Estrella

Carlos Estrella is a third-generation coffee producer based in the village of Buenos Aires in northern Nariño. He began cultivating coffee in 2006 and, in 2012, started planting varieties that were still uncommon in the area, extending his family’s production experience into a broader varietal program.

At approximately 2,200 meters above sea level, La Estrella covers 9 hectares and contains about 20,000 coffee trees. The farm grows Caturra, Colombia, Gesha, Pink Bourbon, and Laurina, combining established regional cultivars with varieties selected for more differentiated cup profiles.

About Gesha

Gesha is valued in specialty coffee for pronounced floral aromatics, articulate acidity, and a refined structure, particularly when cultivated at high elevations. In this lot, jasmine provides the aromatic center, while green grape and blood orange create a crisp, fruit-driven progression around it.

About Processing

Ripe cherries were hand-picked and selected by color, then washed and separated by density through flotation on the day of harvest. The whole cherries fermented for 72 hours in 200-liter plastic tanks without oxygen or light before being pulped without water. A second 12-hour fermentation followed in dry mucilage under the same oxygen-limited conditions; the coffee was then washed with potable water and sun-dried on patios for 22 days.

This two-stage anaerobic washed method can build aromatic intensity during fermentation while maintaining the clean flavor separation and defined finish associated with washed coffee.