Finca Bella Alejandria - Geisha

Wilder Lazo never planned on building a career in coffee. He came back to it because things were falling apart. By 2016, coffee prices across Colombia were collapsing, and at the same time his father became seriously ill. Wilder had trained as a veterinarian focused on livestock, not coffee agronomy. But when the family needed help, he returned home to Huila alongside his brother to keep the farm alive and figure out why years of hard work still weren’t producing coffees that truly stood out.

At the time, their coffees were landing in the low 80s on the cupping table despite increasingly complicated processing experiments. Like much of the industry, they had started believing processing alone could create quality. Instead of chasing fermentation trends, he approached the farm the way he understood biology: as a complete living system. He started with the soil.

He began pulling detailed soil samples throughout the property, mapping nutrient deficiencies, correcting pH imbalances, and rebuilding microbial activity through what he now describes as precision agriculture. The idea was straightforward. If the trees themselves lacked the nutrition to develop exceptional fruit, no amount of clever processing would ever make up for weak raw material.

But for Wilder, improving cup quality only raised a bigger question: what was the absolute best expression of Gesha his farm could produce?

At La Dinastía, high in the mountains of Huila, he began cupping Gesha one tree at a time. Not by lot. Not by section. Individual trees.

Patterns slowly emerged. Some trees consistently produced softer, sweeter profiles with a vanilla-like texture. Others leaned heavily toward tropical fruit. But one phenotype kept separating itself from everything else around it: taller trees producing intensely floral coffees layered with jasmine, citrus blossom, and a level of aromatic complexity that he fell in love with.

Wilder began harvesting seeds only from those specific trees the most floral, the most elegant, the clearest expression of what he believed Gesha could become. Entire sections of the farm were replanted at elevations approaching 2,100 meters above sea level. Later, he established Bella Alejandría using seedlings sourced entirely from those carefully selected mother trees.

Over years of patient selection, propagation, and observation, the project evolved into what he now calls “Pure Genetics.”

This particular coffee happened almost by accident. After processing a larger batch of lemongrass co-fermented Gesha, another lot somehow picked up subtle traces of those aromatics during production possibly through shared fermentation infrastructure, though Wilder still isn’t entirely certain how it occurred. What makes the result so compelling is that the lemongrass character never feels imposed on the cup. It integrates naturally into the coffee’s structure, amplifying qualities that already exist within the variety itself: jasmine, bergamot, citrus blossom, and the tea-like elegance that defines exceptional Gesha.

That restraint mirrors Wilder’s broader philosophy around processing. Fermentation, in his view, should clarify a coffee rather than dominate it. The cherries undergo a carefully controlled 36-hour anaerobic fermentation designed to intensify sweetness and structure while preserving transparency. Fully ripe cherries are floated and cleaned before drying slowly in covered marquesinas (like a covered sun drying bed) over compressed rice husk floors, which help regulate moisture during Huila’s cold mountain nights.

In the cup, the coffee opens with a vivid citrus character that feels closer to pink lemonade and Meyer lemon than the aggressively floral profile often associated with Gesha. Candied lemon peel and fresh lemongrass drive a juicy, sparkling acidity that remains refined rather than sharp.

As the coffee cools, the profile deepens into something more layered and tea-like almost reminiscent of an Arnold Palmer. Delicate oolong not

Produced by Wilder Lazo in the Huila region of Colombia, this Finca Bella Alejandria lot showcases the distinct potential of the Gesha varietal. Known globally for its exceptional floral aromatics and tea-like clarity, the Gesha cultivar is highly sought after by specialty roasters. This specific offering from Big Shoulders Coffee is processed using an anaerobic method, a technique that often influences the final cup profile by intensifying acidity and complexity. To better understand how these processing methods impact the final cup, one might consult the flavor wheel to categorize the bright, citrus-forward notes of jasmine, lemongrass, and Meyer lemon present here. By pairing the unique characteristics of the Huila terroir with the controlled fermentation of anaerobic processing, this coffee highlights the meticulous work required to elevate such a celebrated varietal to its full potential.