JOEL MARIN, El Cruce Anoxic Natural Gesha

Joel Marin is a second generation coffee farmer from La Palma, Chirinos. Joel is one of four brothers, all coffee farmers, who learned the trade from their father, Silvestre, a prominent local producer with relatively large amounts of land. Joel spent many years working on Silvestre’s farm and buying and selling coffee locally to save for a piece of land of his own. Joel bought the El Cruce plot in 2020 which covers three hectares at 1,800 masl. Since then he has stopped buying coffee and is fully dedicated to his own farm and production.

Joel does most of the work on the farm himself, but during the peak of the harvest he hires workers and calls on his brothers for help with picking. The farm is planted with wide spacing between rows in order to allow more light to reach the plants and improve aeration, helping prevent fungal diseases. The trees are fertilised regularly with chemical fertiliser, and weeding is done using a combination of herbicide (applied once a year) and manual work with a strimmer or machete in harder to access parts of the farm.

Joel dreams of competing in local and national quality competitions, and for that reason he planted three varieties: Gesha, which is considered the highest-quality variety; Marshel, a local variety with high cup quality and CLR (Coffee Leaf Rust) resistance; and Bolo, a catimor that is very productive and has consistently good cup quality.

This lot was processed as a natural and fermented for 12 hours before drying. Gesha cherry brought in from the field was rinsed, and floaters were removed, before being placed in plastic bags, similar to GrainPro, for a short 12-hour ferment. After the anoxic (reduced oxygen) fermentation, the cherries were removed from the bags and placed on raised beds to start the drying process.

Joel dries his coffees on raised beds inside a drying tent or on a covered wooden patio. Both methods allow airflow which assists consistent, even drying, which Joel’s wife monitors closely. The natural coffee usually takes 25 to 30 days to dry. Once dry, Joel rests the coffee in his house on the farm for two to three weeks before delivering it to the Chacra warehouse in Jaen.

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.

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 specialized 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.

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.