ICON 66 - Daterra Masterpiece, 72hr Anoxic Gesha

Daterra, meaning "from the earth," was founded in 1976 and is located in the famous Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna ecoregion covering over 20% of Brazil. They are the world's first grade "A" rainforest certified farm, with over 60% of their land dedicated to nature reserves. A walk among the trees reveals a stunning array of wildlife, from toucans and burrowing owls to squirrel monkeys and maned wolves.

The land used for coffee cultivation is divided into several blocks, each with a designated agronomist who cares for the planted varieties and understands the unique environment of their plot. Varieties are carefully chosen to suit the varying aspects of the land, with over 100 varieties currently growing across the farm.

Daterra's annual Masterpiece collection is always eagerly anticipated. Each year they create a set of 88+ scoring coffees from exotic varieties using cutting-edge processing techniques. The Masterpiece farm is very small and functions as a laboratory, testing innovative coffee production methods. This section features new and unusual varieties, diverse processing methods, experimental drying techniques, and countless other trials. Every Masterpiece lot is grown and processed in small quantities, offering a unique cup profile and high scores. Due to their experimental nature, these lots can never be replicated, making them truly one-of-a-kind. A small micro-mill sits on the far side of the drying patio, containing sorting and pulping facilities alongside tanks for anoxic and aerobic fermentation, raised beds with moveable shade netting, and a dedicated warehouse for storage. This self-sufficient operation effectively creates a farm within a farm.

Daterra are also renowned for their Penta Process®. A five-stage methodology for producing the best possible coffees, progressing from planting through harvesting, separation, drying, and finally sorting. The best lots are then packaged using Penta Pack®, an internationally patented system consisting of two 12.1kg inert gas-flushed and vacuum-packed foil bags inside a sturdy box.

The theme of the 2025 auction celebrated the resilience of Brazilian farmers in the face of severe climatic adversity, scarce rainfall, excessive temperatures, and a backdrop of economic instability. To take this further, Daterra chose to pay homage to Brazilian popular culture, celebrating resilience and identity. This season’s lots are named after feelings, sensations, and slang words that are particular to Brazilian culture. This particular lot was named “Saudade”, an untranslatable Portuguese term that describes a melancholic longing or yearning. A recurring theme in Portuguese and Brazilian literature, saudade conveys a sense of loneliness and incompleteness, and is deeply connected to Portuguese culture and soul.

From its wild origins in Southern Ethiopia, the Gesha variety travelled to Panama and eventually to Brazil in the 1960s. Recognising its potential, the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) added Gesha to its genetic bank and began comprehensive research into how this exotic variety would perform in Brazil’s climate and soil. Daterra started working with Gesha in 2014 and have dedicated themselves to unlocking its potential on their farms. Like most of their Masterpiece lots, this coffee has undergone an extended fermentation in anaerobic conditions before being slowly dried on raised beds, producing a fruit-forward and complex profile.

Gesha is a coffee variety originally collected from Ethiopian forests in the 1930s. It was sent to the Lyamungu research station in Tanzania, then brought to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Central America in 1953, where it was logged as accession T2722. Recognized for its tolerance to coffee leaf rust, CATIE distributed it widely throughout Panama in the 1960s. However, farmers didn't favor it due to its brittle branches and relatively low yield, so it wasn't widely planted.

There are actually multiple genetically distinct plant types referred to as Gesha, many sharing similar Ethiopian origins. World Coffee Research has confirmed that the Panamanian Gesha descendant of T2722 is a distinct and uniform variety. When managed well at high altitude, its cup profile can be phenomenal, known for delicate floral and peach aromas.

The lack of a standard translation from Ethiopian dialects to English has resulted in two interchangeably used spellings. The coffee was originally collected near a mountain commonly rendered in English as "Gesha." However, it was first recorded in germplasm records as "Geisha," a spelling mostly maintained by coffee researchers and germplasm banks for decades. The use of "Geisha" is problematic, though, as its non-coffee context carries specific connotations that many feel have been misappropriated for marketing value.

Gesha's global reputation was cemented by the Peterson family of Boquete. Their Hacienda Esmeralda won the Best of Panama competition in 2004 with this variety. The following year, their Gesha received exceptionally high marks and broke the then-record for green coffee auction prices, selling for over $20/pound.

Often called anaerobic fermentation, "anoxic" is the correct term for the environment where fermentation occurs. While fermentation itself is inherently anaerobic (not requiring oxygen), many other microbial processes happening simultaneously do need oxygen. One such process is the production of acetic acid, which can be pleasant in small amounts but leads to very sour, vinegar-like notes and "farmyard" aromas when concentrated. By fermenting coffee without oxygen, you can slow acetic acid production while encouraging more intense fruit flavours. This process can be carried out in various vessels, sometimes with added CO2 (carbonic maceration), and at different stages—either with whole fruit or after the coffee has been pulped.

The dry/natural process is the oldest and simplest method of preparing green coffee. Well-suited to environments with limited water access and hot climates, this process typically uses no water and requires no specialised equipment.

After harvesting, coffee cherries are dried until they reach about 20% moisture content. They're then usually rested for a few weeks in bags before being sent to a mill for hulling and export preparation.

The cherries can be dried on large patios or raised African beds, large trays with a mesh base that allow increased airflow for even drying. Best practices include keeping the drying coffee in shade during the hottest parts of the day and avoiding re-wetting by rain or condensation. Regular turning and good ventilation are also crucial to prevent mould formation.

To avoid defective seeds and sour fermentation off-flavours, it's best to sort the harvested cherries during the initial drying stage when under-ripe, over-ripe, and damaged cherries are easily spotted. After just a couple of days, the cherries turn a dark red-brown colour before becoming black, making it impossible to visually identify problem cherries.

Coffee begins fermenting from the moment it's picked and continues while there's enough moisture and high temperatures, conditions that favour microbial growth. This uncontrolled fermentation leads to the development of wild, fruity flavours and an increased perception of sweetness and body.