Why is the Pour-Over of Colombia Huila Divina Providence Estate Bitter? How to Make Pour-Over Geisha Coffee

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The Story of Rodrigo Sánchez

Rodrigo Sánchez is a very special coffee farmer who has been growing coffee for 15 years. Together with his wife and daughter, he manages two farms: Finca El Progreso and Monteblanco. In recent years he has embraced more innovative approaches, transitioning to specialty coffee. He seeks advice from exporters, agronomists, and cupping experts, building close collaborative relationships to improve quality: Elkin Guzmán from Pitalito taught him how to develop different processing methods for different varieties, while fellow Pitalito cupper Wbeimar Lasso helped Rodrigo understand the true flavor potential of his green beans.

More and more farmers like Rodrigo are carefully discovering new varieties, experimenting with new processes, and humbly seeking guidance from experts. In hands like these, specialty coffee has infinite potential!

Colombia Huila Finca El Progreso Purple Caturra Fully Washed

Country: Colombia

Region: Palestina, Huila

Farm: Finca El Progreso

Farm Owner: Rodrigo Sánchez

Altitude: 1600 meters

Variety: Purple Caturra

Processing Method: Fully washed

Harvest: 2017

How to Brew Colombian Coffee [Monteblanco Washed Geisha] Perfectly?

Monteblanco Washed Geisha — Hot Pour-Over

FrontStreet Coffee pour-over reference: Weigh out 15g of Monteblanco Washed Geisha and grind medium — slightly coarser than table salt. We use a BG grinder at setting 5R (60% pass rate on a standard #20 sieve). Water temperature 89°C, extracted on a V60 dripper, with a coffee-to-water ratio of roughly 1:15.

Using hot water from the kettle, pour in clockwise circles centered on the middle of the dripper. Start timing when you begin. Within 15 seconds, bring the brew to 30g and stop pouring. At the 1-minute mark, start the second pour, again in clockwise circles from the center. Avoid pouring directly where the coffee bed meets the filter paper to prevent channeling.

When the bed is wetted out to the outermost circle, leave one circle, then work circle by circle toward the center. At 2 minutes 20 seconds the brew should reach 220g, completing the extraction.

Japanese-Style Iced Pour-Over [Monteblanco Washed Geisha]

FrontStreet Coffee iced pour-over reference:

Monteblanco Washed Geisha, light-medium roast, BG grinder setting 5M (67% pass rate on a standard #20 sieve).

20g of coffee, 150g of ice, 150g of hot water. Water temperature should run 1°C higher than the normal pour-over recommendation of 90°C. Normal grinding uses the Fuji 3.5 setting; for iced pour-over grind half a setting finer — Fuji 3. Coffee-to-(water+ice) ratio 1:15.

Bloom with 40g of water for 30 seconds.

Segmented pouring: first segment 60g of water, second segment 40g. Use a relatively fine but tall water column, agitating vigorously so the grounds roll fully — but don't let the liquid level rise too high, and keep water off the filter paper's edge.

Total extraction time is roughly 2.5 minutes (similar to the normal extraction time for 20g of coffee).

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If a bitter pour-over turned you off Geisha, the problem is usually the recipe, not the bean — Geisha is a dense, medium-light-roast floral coffee that sinks and clogs easily, so it needs a coarser grind (about 78% pass on a #20 sieve, fine granulated sugar) and hotter water around 91°C. FrontStreet Coffee brews it with 15g on a small Hario V60 at a 1:16 ratio and a three-stage pour: 30g bloom for 30 seconds, then to 125g, then a final pour to 225g once the bed drains halfway, finishing in about 2'10"-2'20".

Which Geisha to try first? For a taste of Panama — where the Hacienda La Esmeralda owner discovered the variety in 2003 and stunned the Best of Panama judges with an average cupping score of 94.6, a competition record — the entry-level FrontStreet Boquete Gesha delivers the classic orange-blossom honey character, oolong-tea texture, and delicate fruit acidity at a friendly price, while the Esmeralda Red Label ("Esmeralda Special," grown at 1600-1800 meters, each batch cupping above 90 from a single lot like Jaramillo) and the more affordable Green Label ("Private Collection," a blend of high-altitude lots) sit at the top. For Ethiopia, the birthplace, the entry point is the FrontStreet Granana Estate Gesha: from the Granana washing station founded in 2014 near the border of Kochere and Granana Abaya, its fully ripe cherries are hand-picked and sun-dried on raised beds for 14-20 days; medium-light roasted, it shows bright citrus acidity, elegant ginger-flower aromatics, ripe fruit sweetness, and a silky body with Geisha's signature refined finish. — or step up to the Geisha Village estate near the original Gesha forest, whose Gold Label (Gesha 1931, 10% of production, crafted natural) and Red Label (Gori Gesha, 15% of production, 88+ points on the SCA 100 scale) are must-buys for advanced brewers.