Sebastian Gomez La Divisa

Sebastian Gomez La Divisa, Armenia Quindio Colombia, Gesha, Natural Anaerobic, 2024

Floral | Blueberries | Raisins | Cacao nibs | Gula Melaka

Gesha, also spelled Geisha, needs no introduction. According to various sources, it was first found in Ethiopia in 1930s, made its way to Panama in 1960s and to Colombia only in 2005. However, within this short period of time, Colombia Gesha has garnered a reputation as the most consumed and best loved Gesha.

Sebastian Gomez is no stranger to Parchmen & Co. During the painful COVID years, the beautiful Pink Bourbon of Sebastian Gomez (as well as coffees from Jairo Arcila's Santa Monica) lifted our spirits as well as the spirits of our customers alike. We are happy to be featuring Sebastian Gomez's coffee once again, from his La Divisa, a 13-hectare farm in Circasia, Quindío. Located at an elevation of 1,700 - 1,800m, coffee grows alongside beautiful shade trees such as Guamo, Guayacan, Gualandai and Nogal, in volcanic soils. La is Spanish for the article 'the'; Divisa is Spanish for a motto or badge, showing the farm's commitment to quality which they treasure like a badge of honour. Parchmen & Co is currently featuring a beautiful coffee from another La Divisa - Diofanor Ruiz La Divisa, from the same region.  

Coming from a traditional coffee family, his father and him share the ownership of La Divisa. Sebastian is a young farmer and, along with his wife, work on the coffee duties and administrative matters. His father, John, has been working in coffee for more than 30 years and has been taking care of the coffee farm since he bought the farm in 1995. Sebastian started to be more involved in coffee in 2014 when he returned to Colombia. Sebastian could witness the specialty coffee movement in other countries, so he decided to be more involved in his family business, with a focus on specialty coffee. Exotic varieties were then planted alongside the traditional Castillo and Caturra. It was in 2018 when he planted 5,000 green-tipped Gesha trees from which our coffees come from. The young 6-year-old Gesha trees are at their prime in 2024 and we can expect loads of florals and berries from it.

This gesha underwent anaerobic fermentation for 40 hours in bags, after which the coffee was placed on raised beds in a greenhouse below 35ºC until ideal moisture content was achieved. A method that is gaining popularity in more well-equipped farms, the greenhouse is a form of solar dryer, in which the hot Colombian sunlight heats up the air within, reducing its relative humidity and increasing its efficiency in drying the coffee cherries. As such, the cherries dry evenly in a shorter time, and avoids the risk of contamination and sunburn when directly exposed to the sun and atmosphere. Only the best coffees in the farms have a place in the greenhouse, and surely, our geshe is dried in it.