[25] Colombia - Quebraditas Gesha [CROP 23/24 ARCHIVE]

Edinson's extremely balanced Thermal Shock Gesha ran from 12/06/2024 to 11/09/2024. A little longer than we expected, it proved the rule about the value of producer brand - and we're happy to help promote Quebraditas, with more lots on the way.

We’re dropping an extremely short run lot from soon-to-be rockstar producer Edinson Argote and his partner Luz Angela. Much like us at Scenery, he worked inside an established and very well known coffee business, honing his skills and knowledge before striking off to start his own venture to produce coffee as he saw fit. 

We’re all about supporting fresh starts and lesser known producers, and you can be sure this Gesha isn’t the last lot we’ll be featuring from Edinson. Modern processing that still shows a lot of varietal character, something we really appreciate in our buying.

Brew Guide:

Best Brewed with: Filter

A very delicate and nuanced lot when compared to some of the bolder, brasher high technical intervention offers that cross our paths. We’re roasting it pretty light with our initial approach. Excellent as iced filter!

Best rested for: 3-4 weeks

For Filter: We recommend a ratio of 60g/L and 98°C water

For Espresso: 18g in, 50g out, 20-25s turbo-style shots are our preference for peak juice.

We’re tasting:

Mixed tropical fruit aromas, with ripe fruit character. Some classic delicate gesha florals and citrus character on the hot cup, but as it cools the modern processing really starts to come out. Blueberry yoghurt, blackcurrant jam, lychee and floral notes, with a sweetness very akin to rice milk. A complex coffee that really deserves consideration

Traceability:

The Story

Edinson Argote is a producer with a storied history - orphaned, raised by his sister and leaving home at aged 11 to work, the odds could not have been said to be stacked anymore against him. 

We often talk about how the speciality coffee industry (for those that participate in it on the consuming side) is a place of second chances. Not many people set off into life deciding they want to be a barista, a cafe manager, roaster or buyer - but often coffee finds them, at a time when other paths may have been shut, and offers an alternate life path. The coffee industry rewards passion and dedication (and unfortunately, oft exploits it too) and for those that pursue it, the second chance it offers is transformative. 

Edinson is a key example that the redemptive second chance the industry provides isn’t purely restricted to us in the global north. Upon discharge from a stint in the Colombian Army, aged 20, he went to work with his cousin at a coffee buying station in Huila. Depending on the facilities, these stations will buy either wet cherry, wet parchment or dried parchment from producers - either processing and drying onwards, or combining smaller outturns for milling as larger lots. Even for commodity grade coffee, there is still a huge amount of quality control required - defect counts and drying quality have a huge effect on the value of the coffee for international buyers. Edinson fell in love with the work - and developed a keen interest in cupping especially, going on to take courses to develop his skillset in this newfound career. 

He took the drive and passion and worked his way up - to a role that placed him in the very beating heart of the current modern wave of high technical intervention coffees. As head of quality on a very famous farm in Piendamó, Cauca (names withheld for propriety, but it’s not hard to guess who) Edinson became technically adept at yeast inoculated controlled fermentations, with thermal controls. But if there’s anything an industrious, passionate coffee person will have - it’s the drive to say “Yes, but I want to do my own take on it”. It’s the same drive that made us leave stable jobs to found Scenery, and indeed has seen the flourishing of speciality from an initial seed of switched on, engaged producers, consumers and cafes. 

Edinson’s girlfriend, Luz Angela, comes from a coffee producing family - Luz’s family farm, the 10 HA Chorro Alto in Huila was churning solid quantities of classic Colombian washed coffees. with the knowledge Edinson has gained, they embarked on a new venture, purchasing 8 HA of land that became Quebraditas Coffee Farm. Planted almost entirely with exotic varieties, this farm is a continuation of the techniques Edinson learned - without (yet) the full technical bioreactor setup, but also not needing to churn container after container  of ultra-high intervention lots to satisfy global demand. 

Their project is still young, with production still in its infancy - however, Edinson has joined forces with Jonny and Jorge at El Jaragual. It was Edinson’s advice with the processing that has helped propel Jaragual to become the new hottest farm on the block, and we’re on board to keep launching these incredible producers. If we’re going to buy high intervention coffees that we love, we’ll do it whilst also supporting the underdogs.