Panama Iris Estate Terroir Washed Gesha
Tastes Like: Coffee Blossom, Tangerine, White Grape, Vanilla
Origin: Volcán, Chiriquí, Panama
Variety: Gesha
Producer: Jamison Savage, Saśa Šestić
Elevation: 2200 masl
Process: Washed
Iris Estate sits in the volcanic highlands of Chiriquí, western Panama, with coffee planted between 1,800 and 2,300 meters, high enough that clouds move through the trees most afternoons. It's the newest project from Jamison Savage, the producer behind Finca Deborah and Morgan Estate, working alongside Sasa Sestic and Elvin Siew. Savage's approach is restraint: give the trees space, shade, and altitude, and intervene only where a human hand improves on what the land is already doing. The farm is young. Every harvest so far has been better than the last, and this lot is why we keep going back. We bought it directly from Jamison.
Coffee blossom is the first thing you notice. It's there on the dry grounds before you pour. The cup itself runs bright and clean: tangerine up front, white grape through the middle, and a vanilla sweetness that carries the finish. Delicate, but not thin. This is what washed Gesha from high-elevation Panama tastes like when nothing gets in its way.
Gesha traces back to wild forests in southwestern Ethiopia, but Panama is where it became the most sought-after variety in coffee. At Iris Estate they're planted under shade at elevation, which slows cherry maturation and builds the florals and structured acidity the variety is known for. Lower yield, longer wait, and a better cup.
Terroir is Savage's washed process, and the name is the point: nothing added, everything controlled. Only fully ripe cherries measuring above 21 Brix are picked. The fruit is removed with low-water milling equipment, then the coffee moves to dry-houses where it's shade-dried for more than ten days, slow enough that the parchment never cracks, with temperature, airflow, and humidity monitored throughout. Once it reaches 10.5-11% moisture, the coffee rests in GrainPro for up to 90 days to stabilize before hulling and density sorting. Patience at every step. You taste it in how clean this cup is.