The town of Planadas in Tolima, Colombia is the quintessential coffee-producing town. Having spent over 5 years sourcing coffee in this community, I’ve grown to love and respect this place. It's seen its fair share of hardship—up until recently, it was a stronghold for the rebel Farq faction—so it always felt like a bit of an adventure to visit this part of Tolima.
Over the years, I’ve worked with hundreds of smallholder farmers and visited the farms and homes of dozens. Among them all, the clear leader in terms of quality is Franco Alexi Garzon. He won the Cup of Excellence in 2017, and ever since he has been on tear producing the absolute best coffee in the region.
This coffee is one of the best lots from his harvest, the finest representation of a major coffee-producing region of the world.
Regarding brewing: I definitely prefer Gesha as a brewed coffee. If I were you, I'd brew this one on Chemex. You certainly can brew this as espresso, and if you do, shoot for a ratio of 1 to 2.5 out. You'll want a bit of a larger-volume shot to really taste the floral details on this coffee.
