Colombia, Finca El Uberrimo - Gesha
| Variety | Gesha |
| Process | Reposado Washed |
| Altitude | 2150 masl |
| Harvest | Oct-Dec |
| Flavours | Guava l Passion Fruit l Hibiscus |
Francy and her four sisters grew up helping their parents at the coffee farm, which inspired her to major in Agronomy to provide support and management for the family business. She completed her university degree through distance learning all while working on her farm to pay for her studies. After graduating in 2019, she began working at the FNC as a Field Assistant around her hometown of Arboleda, Nariño.
She also gained experience in sensory development by working at a private export lab in Buesaco. In her own words, "I became even more interested in coffee and day by day I wanted to learn more about the beautiful world of coffee".
Once the buying program for Apex was established in Arboleda, farmers like Francy had a connection to the international market. Francy writes, "I heard a lot about your company and my new goal was to be able to reach you with coffee from our farm as a family and especially to be able to show the coffee our people from our municipality of Arboleda because we live far away from everything and our coffee has not been recognized".
Facilitating market access for farmers like Doña Francy is the primary goal of Apex and we're so proud to showcase her fantastic coffees to the world.
At El Ubérrimo, farm tasks like planting, fertilization, and harvesting are done with the help of Francy's neighbours and family members. Production practices on the farm focus on using the least amount of chemicals to preserve the naturally occurring microbial life in the soil. This helps support the growth of healthy coffee plants. This is evident in the clean, sweet, and complex flavours in the final cup.
Fancy runs the Berruecos project, which brings together coffee parchment from small producers in the region at her collection point. This initiative allows isolated producers to access the specialty coffee market, giving them the opportunity to earn premium prices. The project generates larger and more manageable lots, sourced from exceptional farms and producers.
In 2017, Francy began a structured coffee farming project that required detailed planning from seed selection to post-harvest storage to establish new coffee plantings successfully. Choosing the right seeds and preparing the soil are essential first steps in sustainable coffee cultivation.
Sustainable practices often include soil conservation techniques such as cover cropping and mulching to protect soil structure and prevent erosion. Francy also adjusted planting distances to give each coffee plant enough room for healthy root and canopy development, which is crucial for good growth.
Agricultural tasks like planting, fertilising and hand-picking ripe cherries involve neighbours and family members, a common practice on small farms. The farm’s production methods emphasise the minimal use of synthetic agrochemicals to preserve soil microbial life and overall soil health, which supports resilient and productive coffee plants.
LOT INFORMATION
The production of Gesha coffee aims for continuous improvement to achieve a high-quality and safe product. Only beans that have completed their maturation cycle are harvested, when the drupe shows a deep red colour and Brix levels average above 20°. The cherries are washed and flotation-sorted, then placed in jute sacks for a first oxidation of 50 hours before pulping. The pulping machine is checked and cleaned, the beans are pulped, and then left in sacks for 70 hours for a second oxidation or fermentation.
A rinse removes the mucilage before drying, which begins on drying beds for about 17 days, finishes on the patio under a black tarp heated 3 to 4 hours per day until moisture reaches 10–11 %, and the coffee is finally stored in Latinatech bags.