When it comes to superspecials, Cafe Granja La Esperanza is always on our list. There’s a reason for that. Most of Lex's all-time favourite coffees come from their productions. Our experiences with Cafe Granja start with the first barista competitions we competed in, serious super specialty.
Cerro Azul is a beautiful farm located between two mountain peaks and the highest point reaches 1960 masl where the coffee trees get a large amount of sun during the day that is broken by a beautiful fog from the evening to the late morning
This high altitude gives the coffee bright acidity, and the long period of fog breaks up the sun and makes for a cooler temperature and a higher humidity, which causes slow maturation of the cherries, meaning they produce more sugars contributing to the coffee’s intense sweetness.
Cerro Azul by itself is a pretty amazing environment for producing a great tasting coffee, but Cafe Granja saw even bigger potential for this farm, and in 2008 they were the first ones to bring geisha trees from Panama back to Colombia to experiment with, on their own farms.
As we all know Geisha is a fragile variety, has a low yield, needs perfect conditions and requires a lot of care. Cafe Granja took a risk, wanting to use this variety because of it’s distinctive flavor notes that have made it famous. But sometimes risks are worth taking, and this coffee proves it.