Finca Talquesalar - Geisha

Jammy apricot with mellow chocolate flavours. Mild complex acidity and clean fruit-like sweetness with a long & rich aftertaste.

Country

El Salvador

Region

Chalatenango

Farm

Irene del Socorro Sosa - Finca Talquesalar

Variety

Geisha

Altitude

1400 masl

Proc. Method

Honey

Irene del Socorro Sosa owns Finca Talquesalar, a farm in the La Montañita region of Chalatenango that is home to around 4,500 coffee trees consisting of Geisha and Pacamara varieties as well as different citrus trees. Honey coffees are on the rise in El Salvador, and typically the coffees are picked ripe and depulped the day they're harvested, then spread on patios or raised beds to dry in their mucilage for 18–27 days.

Geisha is one of the most revered varietals in specialty coffee, originally discovered in the Gori Gesha forest of Ethiopia before making its way through Tanzania and Costa Rica and eventually being distributed across Central America in 1953. When properly cultivated, Geisha coffees are celebrated for their delicate floral, jasmine, and peach-like aromas, along with an extraordinary complexity of flavour that can include notes of jasmine, chocolate, honey, and even tea. It was Panama that catapulted Geisha to international fame at the 2004 Best of Panama competition, where it so stunned tasters that it sold for $21 per pound — an unprecedented price at the time — and ignited a worldwide obsession with the variety.

In El Salvador, Geisha has since found a remarkably fitting home. The variety has taken to El Salvador's terroir exceptionally well, developing a distinctive profile of floral and citrus notes with a bright acidity that is winning recognition across the global specialty coffee market. A landmark moment came in 2018, when Geisha entered El Salvador's Cup of Excellence competition for the very first time and immediately took both first and second place — a stunning debut that announced the country as a serious force in Geisha production. By 2023, a lot of Salvadoran Geisha fetched $600 per pound at auction, cementing El Salvador's place alongside Panama and Colombia as one of the world's most compelling origins for this extraordinary coffee.