011 - Lino Rodriguez
011 - Lino Rodriguez
011 - Lino Rodriguez
011 - Lino Rodriguez
011 - Lino Rodriguez
011 - Lino Rodriguez
011 - Lino Rodriguez
011 - Lino Rodriguez
011 - Lino Rodriguez

011 - Lino Rodriguez

Regular price$34.00
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We expect that this coffee will be roasted for subscribers the week of March 17, 2025 and will be available for public release the week of March 24.


The second coffee of our 2025 season comes to us from a favorite producer of our 2024 season: Lino Rodriguez. A six-time Cup of Excellence awarded producer, Lino's reputation for quality is rivaled only by his professionalism and sincerity.

From Christopher: "I've been buying coffee from Lino Rodriguez for almost ten years—since before he won the Cup of Excellence or built the reputation he has today. In the years I've roasted coffee from Lino and his family, I've bought Tabi, Castillo, Caturra, and Pink Bourbon from their farm—but never Gesha. This is notable only because Gesha—which was introduced to Colombia in 2005—was one of the first exotic cultivars Lino planted, as a result of a planting program sponsored by Banexport in 2010.

"Through the program, Banexport provided seeds—purportedly from the Esmeralda estate in Panama—with the guarantee of purchasing any of the coffee produced. After a few years, the program ended as the pricing for gesha became uncompetitive. However, the trees remained.

"Aviary's first release of 2025 from Nancy Mendoza was a Gesha from the CATIE collection in Costa Rica resulting from the FAO Mission to Ethiopia in 1964; the mythology of the gesha germplasm grown by Lino, sourced from Panama, is that it originated earlier, collected from Ethiopia in the 1930s and then sent to Tanzania and Kenya, from where it made its way to Panama and infamy.

"This coffee, which Lino exported through his cooperative in Palestina and shipped my home via Fedex, presents in the cup with notes of jasmine, orange blossom and pomegranate with a blood orange and brown sugar sweetness."

This coffee is scheduled to be roasted the week of March 17, 2025.

TASTING NOTES: Jasmine, orange blossom, blood orange, pomegranate
ROAST:
Light to very light, to accentuate the structured acidity of this coffee and present its fruited character as ripe and juicy
ACIDITY: Bright and pretty acidity
FUNK: This is a clean, floral-forward fermented honey with a tropical, citrus fruit quality with only a trace amount of pulp flavor in the cool cup, particularly at lower extraction levels.
FOR FANS OF: Explorations of Gesha outside of Panama; year-over-year relationships; smallholder success stories; Cup of Excellence winning producers

FARMGATE PRICE: $25 per kg
FOB PRICE: self-exported
LANDED PRICE: $11.52 per lb

Since I first started buying from and collaborating with Lino in 2016, I've seen him grow from a smallholder operating his family's farm and wet mill to the operator of a processing operation where he sells his neighbors seedlings—often of exotic varieties like Pink Bourbon—and then, when those trees produce, buys their cherry to process and sell for export.

I bought this coffee directly from Lino after speaking with him via WhatsApp, hoping to present a different sort of cup profile compared with AVIARY#004; in truth, I was willing to pay whatever it cost. Lino understands his long-term costs well and manages his business accordingly. His sophistication as a producer is rewarded with the high prices his coffee commands.

The invoice for this coffee included the transit cost, which was shipped via FedEx. Lino self-exported this coffee and received the full FOB value of $25.025 per kg, or $11.35 per lb.

Gesha coffee grown from germplasm from Esmeralda estate at 1800 masl using biological methods by Linarco Rodriguez at Finca Betania in Palestina, Colombia; selectively hand-picked at peak ripeness; sorted; floated; fermented in cherry for 24 hours; pulped; fermented under water for 48 hours; drained; dried as a honey under partial shade in marquesinas for 22 days; packed in bags and stabilized for 20 days.

This coffee is roasted quite light to highlight its florality and brightness while also bringing out fruited character. I recommend resting it for at least 3-4 weeks from its roast date for filter brewing and 6-10 weeks for espresso-style preparation (though you may wish to try it earlier to enjoy how the coffee changes and opens over time).

As filter, I prefer a ratio of 1:17 using low-agitation methods of extraction resulting in 22-23% EY.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRODUCER

Dear friends,

We appreciate your purchase of our Gesha coffee. We hope you enjoy every sip of this delicious drink. Our coffee is the result of the effort and dedication of our family. It's the best we can produce in our land surrounded by a breathtaking mountainous landscape.

We have a passion and an attitude for quality. We achieve a unique flavor and unmatched sweetness.

Thank you for your support.
- Linarco Rodriguez