Granja La Esperanza

Nearly a century old, Granja La Esperanza has taken great strides under Rigoberto Herrera’s leadership and forward-thinking vision. In the last decade, the estate’s farms have diverged from traditional C-market coffees to the more delicate and exquisite varieties coveted by the specialty coffee industry, including the popular Geisha variety.

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters has served some fantastic and fan favorite coffees from this estate including the popular Tres Dragones, a colombia variety coffee that features a unique Hybrid Natural processing method and the delicious Cerró Azul Geisha, a high elevation geisha variety processed with a Hybrid Washed method with two fermentation cycles.

With farm sites ranging from 1430 to 1860 meters above sea level, the Herrera family introduced a diversity of coffee varietals to their farms that traditionally were planted with Typica. After a devastating fire in 2017 that left the Potosi farm in ashes, the Herrera brothers looked for a silver lining and were able to redesign and organize their production facility. They brought in three mechanical dryers, dubbed the three dragons, which they used to find new ways to enhance the natural notes in the already beautiful profile of the Tres Dragones coffee.

At Finca Cerró Azul, the Geisha trees grow in a unique landscape, on an elevated foothill between two mountains facing the Pacific Ocean. The windward side receives a warm, mineral-rich sea breeze while the leeward side rises over Valle del Cauca and gives the valley intermittently cloudy weather. Being located between these two faces exposes the trees to fog at sunrise and sunset, with strong equatorial sun in the afternoon. The plentiful rain and rich volcanic soil provide conditions for the Geisha cherries to reach optimal levels of sugar.

Bird Rock Coffee has been working with Granja la Esperanza for over 6 years and continues to bring their amazing coffees to life at our San Diego Roastery.