This Gesha variety coffee is grown at Finca La Pradera in Santa Maria, Huila, Colombia, at an altitude of 2050 meters. Managed by Luis Enrique and Robinson Cuellar, the cherries are hand-picked at peak ripeness, fermented for 24 hours, depulped, and then fermented for an additional 48-52 hours. The beans are washed and dried on raised beds for 18-25 days. This coffee offers a lush and fruit-forward profile with distinct tasting notes of peach, bergamot, tropical fruit, and lemon verbena.
Rebecca Grossman and Lucas Smith founded Ilse in 2019, starting with a thousand dollars and a rented roaster in Stamford before building out their own facility in a converted mechanic's garage in North Canaan. The approach is quality-driven: light roasts, single-producer microlots, and a commitment to buying entire harvests from the same farms year after year, some relationships now stretch back to the beginning. Pricing is transparent; each bag lists what the producer was paid, the FOB price, and Ilse's cost. Sourcing focuses on Central and South America and East Africa, with Costa Rica, Honduras, Colombia, and Ethiopia appearing regularly.
