Tanzania Leon Christianakis - Gesha

Cost per 250mL serving - $2.37

We are welcoming two lovely lots from Acacia Hills’ Leon Christianakis back onto our menu this season, for the third year in a row, and are so pleased, as always, by the continued quality of the lots that he produces. His washed geisha this year remains memorable, as it has been in years past. When brewed, you can expect lots of delicate, green honeydew melon, stable rose florality throughout, and the lingering juiciness of red rooibos tea throughout the experience.

Leon Christianakis is the third generation of his family to grow coffee in Tanzania, his ancestors having immigrated from Greece in the early 20th century, with the intention of making a living in coffee production. The land they initially cultivated was not suitable, however, to growing specialty-grade coffee due to its low altitude; consequently, in the early 2000s, Leon began searching for lands at higher altitude that would be more suitable to the cultivation of coffee of exceptional quality. In 2007, Leon, in partnership with Mark Stell, purchased the land on Mount Oldeani that would become Acacia Hills, and planted trees whose varietals have high quality potential at altitude, namely, kent, SL28, pacamara, and geisha.

Geisha is one of the most prized varieties of coffee due to its absolutely exceptional potential for quality, and particularly intense, even perfumed florality, sweetness, and clarity of flavor. Geisha is an Ethiopian heirloom variety, having been first identified in the 1930s in the forests of Gori Gesha. The variety first attracted global attention in 2005, when the Peterson family of Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, Panama entered a lot of geisha grown on their estate into the Best of Panama competition, and won. Ever since, geisha has come to enjoy the status of the most lauded variety of coffee in commercial cultivation, and is heavily represented among winning lots in Cup of Excellence competitions annually.

All coffee is sold whole-bean to reduce oxidation, and increase the longevity of volatile organic compounds.