Blind Assessment

Wild, unruly, utterly brilliant and original. Intensely and intricately floral-toned: opulent lily through delicate violet with a shifting bouquet of possibilities between. At the heart of aroma and flavor is a cidery, brandyish compote of fruit--apple, passion fruit, lychee--rounded by a fine, cocoa-toned chocolate. The structure is shifty, simultaneously sweet, crisply bitterish and tart, the mouthfeel plump and syrupy. The finish rings on with continuing layers of fruit, flowers, cocoa and coconut.

Notes

The intensity and complexity of this extraordinary coffee are owing both to tree variety and processing method. The variety is the rare Ethiopia-derived botanical variety Gesha (also spelled Geisha). With its generally elongated beans and distinctive floral and crisp, often chocolaty cup, the Gesha continues to distinguish itself as one of the world’s most unique coffee varieties. Joseph Brodsky and his colleagues processed this Gesha at Ninety Plus Gesha Estates in Panama using a refined and innovative processing procedure involving fermenting the whole, freshly-picked coffee fruit at high temperatures using a special yeast strain before drying it, still in the whole fruit. Bird Rock Coffee Roasters is a retailer and wholesaler focused on organic and socially responsible coffees; it was awarded the “2012 Micro-Roaster of the Year” title by Roast Magazine. Visit www.birdrockcoffee.com or call 858-551-1707 for more information.

Bottom Line

The grand floral and cocoa complexity of the Gesha variety is amplified here by an innovative processing method that turns mouthfeel big and buoyant and the fruit lush, intense and giddily brandy-toned.

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