Miguel Lopez Gesha - Peru
Miguel Lopez, a second-generation farmer from La Palma, Chirinos, produces some of Peru’s finest Gesha. A trained coffee taster and quality expert at his local cooperative, Miguel planted one hectare of Gesha using seeds sourced from Panama. He uses a clean, washed process with approximately 36 hours of aerobic fermentation in open-air tanks, followed by washing with spring water and drying on raised beds.
Miguel Lopez, a second-generation farmer from La Palma, Chirinos, produces some of Peru’s finest Gesha. A trained coffee taster and quality expert at his local cooperative, Miguel planted one hectare of Gesha using seeds sourced from Panama. He uses a clean, washed process with approximately 36 hours of aerobic fermentation in open-air tanks, followed by washing with spring water and drying on raised beds.
Miguel Lopez, a second-generation farmer from La Palma, Chirinos, produces some of Peru’s finest Gesha. A trained coffee taster and quality expert at his local cooperative, Miguel planted one hectare of Gesha using seeds sourced from Panama. He uses a clean, washed process with approximately 36 hours of aerobic fermentation in open-air tanks, followed by washing with spring water and drying on raised beds.
Origin: Peru, Chirinos, Cajamarca
Farm: La Palma
Producer: Miguel Lopez
Altitude: 1750-1850 masl
Variety: Gesha
Process: 36h aerobic and washed
Tasting Notes
ELDERFLOWER / NECTARINE / HONEY
After drying, the coffee rests for one month, allowing its outstanding clarity and complexity to fully shine, delivering notes of elderflower, nectarine and honey.
Miguel Lopez is a second generation coffee farmer from La Palma, Chirinos. Aside from being a farmer, Miguel is a professional coffee taster and works in a local cooperative in quality control. Being able to taste his own coffee helps Miguel maintain a high standard from his farm, producing some of the best Gesha in the country. Miguel’s father, Noé, moved to Chirinos as a young man in search of a better life and dreamed of owning his own land. After some years working in farms he managed to buy a large plot of land which he turned into pasture land and also planted some coffee. Miguel had a passion for coffee from a young age and his father supported him by helping him get a job in the local cooperative in Chirinos. After a number of years learning about coffee tasting and trying different coffees, Miguel decided to plant his own farm, with the help of the cooperative (la Prosperidad de Chirinos) Miguel got hold of some original Gesha seeds imported directly from Panama. From those seeds he managed to get only seven productive plants, and once they were old enough he took seeds from those plants and planted one hectare of Gesha.
Processing
Aerobic fermentation and washed
Miguel loves clean and uncomplicated washed coffee and this is shown in his own coffees, he doesn’t tend to play about much with fermentation, having found what he considers to be the perfect profile for his Gesha. Miguel pulps the cherry the same day it’s picked so that the cherry doesn’t begin to ferment, and ferments in traditional tiled fermentation tanks which are open to the air. After around 36 hours, the exact time is determined by feeling the coffee, which should feel less sticky and the mucilage should easily come off when rubbed, the coffee is washed in spring water and then placed to dry.
The coffee is dried on raised beds covered with a transparent plastic. After a period of around 15 days, depending on the climate, the coffee is ready to be bagged and rests. Miguel believes that geisha needs at least a month of rest to open up, so he bags it and seals it and doesn’t touch it for one month, after which time the coffee is rested and can be tasted.
