Savage Anthem Gesha
Natural Gesha coffees are some of the most prized and sought after in the world.
This is it. A bright, expressive natural Gesha from Panama in all the best ways. Intense red florals, complex tropical fruit, and an extraordinary sweetness make this a coffee that would be right at home on a competition stage. A place where Jamison’s coffees are often found. This past season competitors who placed first, second, and third place in the world barista championships used coffees from various Savage projects in Volcan, Panama. An impressive and unprecedented sweep of the podium for a single producer.
This lot is an effort of multiple producers that delivered their fresh Gesha cherries to the Savage team for processing. This coffee was slow dried on African style raised beds in dry houses for 20 days. We find this simple, straightforward approach to processing to be a refreshing change of pace in a world dominated by heavier handed protocols. The result is a cup that is unmistakably gesha, and Panamanian.
Savage In Competition
Coffee competition came fast in 2022. When we learned two people from Blanchard’s would be competing at the US Brewer’s Cup in Boston, a very tight timeline began. We had just over 50 days to put together an entire nationals level coffee performance, dramatically less time than a traditional season.
One of the first orders of business as we began to prepare was to choose a coffee to compete with. As a competitor, this is a very complicated and personal process. In many ways, you’re simply looking for a coffee that will score well according to the parameters laid out in the score sheet. Though at the same time, you’re looking for a coffee you can identify with, and matches your own preferences for how amazing coffee should taste. All of this, while also having a story compelling enough to share from the stage.
We were going through this process in mid-February. Coffees from east Africa wouldn’t begin arriving for another few months, and many of Colombia’s fresh crop offerings were on track to be in Richmond early April, a bit close for comfort. In an effort to not put all of our eggs in one basket, I opened the search for a coffee beyond the usual suspects. Through a phone call with a friend and longtime advocate for coffee competitions, Panama began to look like an increasingly viable option. Some of the best and most memorable coffees I’ve ever tasted had come from there, and they had fresh crop coffee ready to go.
It was at this point that I began going back and forth with Jamison Savage. Jamison is something of a legend in Panama coffee, known as a pioneer of many experimental processing approaches. He has a deep reverence for the natural environment which affords the conditions that are very nearly perfect for his Gesha plants to thrive. He’s produced some of the most celebrated and decorated coffees in the world. Often seen taking top honors at competitions throughout Europe and Asia. As we spoke more about what I was looking for in a coffee to bring to Boston, we agreed on one big fundamental. Processing should elevate the coffee’s sense of place and terroir, not subtract from it.
I remember reading Jamison’s email from my tent while on a rock climbing trip in western North Carolina where he described a coffee that fit what I was looking for. It was a gesha that had undergone a deeply extended 100 hour anaerobic fermentation in the cherry. A time that rides the upper limit for fermentation times. Bringing intensity of flavor and acidity, while maintaining elements imparted from the growing environment of Volcan Baru. Jamison and his team worked exceptionally fast and had 5kg of green coffee waiting for me in Richmond when I arrived home from my trip. This would be the coffee that I would use in my performance.
Working with Jamison’s coffee challenged many things I thought I knew about coffee. A unique coffee would require a unique approach. It could be roasted faster than anything I’d worked with before, brewed in ways I previously hadn’t explored, the list goes on. Many rules simply did not apply here. In the weeks leading up to Boston, my goal was to leave no stone unturned and present the most interesting and memorable cup possible. Ultimately, this is the cup that was served to the panel of judges in Boston.
