The Phantom Gesha

Our second single origin Peru from the 2024 harvest comes to us from the Silva-Fernandez family, led by Merci Fernandez! Merci's a young farmer, cupping lab manager, and all-around badass based in the Colosay area of Northern Peru, and is exactly the type of producer we’re excited to partner with: experimental, young, and passionate about coffee, with a bright future ahead of her.
We first met Merci on our trip to Peru in August of 2021, when we took a day trip up to Origin Coffee Lab’s purchase station in Colosay. Origin is the exporter we work with in Peru, and a recipient of the Specialty Coffee Association's annual sustainability award.
At that point Merci was running Origin's acopio in Colosay - a small cupping lab, purchase station, and warehouse catering to farmers in the area. Merci continues to run the Colosay acopio and work with her parents, Felix and Violeta, on their farm, Finca La Pomarrosa. But in the the years since, Merci's taken on more and more responsibility with Origin, too, working as an agronomic and processing advisor for other farmers in the network, and recently becoming the official head of the La Higuera group. We’ve also had the chance to meet Felix + Violeta, and the combo of the family working together on-farm, coupled with Merci's knowledge and drive, seem to be a magic recipe for quality.
Finca La Pomarrosa sits at 1800 meters and above in the village of La Higuera, and the Silva-Fernandez family has mostly a local variety called "Colosay Bourbon." In reality, it's not a bourbon at all, but a disease-resistant hybrid, but the quality can be incredible, and lends the coffee in the Colosay area a unique profile. Additionally, La Pomarrosa processes Huckleberry's coffee using a variation on the washed process that they and Origin Coffee Lab call "fruta madura." It's a washed coffee, but with a prolonged in-cherry fermentation before depulping, followed by a prolonged under-water fermentation after depulping and before washing. All those factors, plus some careful roasting here in Denver, help create a cup we love, with big fruit, syrupy body, and big sweetness.
We’re tasting raspberry and plum, balanced with notes of caramel and pastry. With both body and balanced fruit, La Pomarrosa is pure, chuggable deliciousness!
*** For roasting schedule, shipping, receiving & additional information, please visit out Frequently Asked Questions . And, for a primer on coffee processing, check out our Processing Basics Guide. ***
📸: Violeta Silva, Merci + Felix Fernandez at La Pomarrosa
Merci + Maria Alberca, Merci's former co-manager at Origin's Colosay Lab (Maria now works at the Jaen lab, and Merci runs the Colosay show)
There are a lot of drip coffee makers out there in various sizes. The grind size you should use is dependent on how much you’re brewing, but generally, you’ll want to use a grind size that is considered “medium.” It will feel similar to beach sand.
There are a lot of drip coffee makers out there in various sizes. The grind size you should use is dependent on how much you’re brewing, but generally, you’ll want to use a grind size that is considered “medium.” It will feel similar to beach sand.
The aeropress is extremely versatile, and you can look up different ways on the internet to brew coffee using this contraption. For this method, we mostly stick to the devices’ instructions. We use 2 filters instead of just one for a cleaner mouthfeel. Start a timer when you touch water to the grounds. Once all your water is added, stir for 10 seconds, then apply the plunger part to the main portion to create a vacuum and allow it to brew. Make sure to take everything off the scale before you plunge so you don’t ruin your scale. Start pressing gently at 2:00, aiming to finish by 2:30.