This Gesha coffee is grown at Finca Soledad in the Imbabura region of Ecuador at 1,515 meters above sea level. The farm is set within 120 hectares of natural forest on a 4-hectare plot, managed by producer Pepe Jijon who practices biodynamic and organic farming. This lot is a Gesha variety separation harvested in September 2025. Cherries are picked at peak ripeness, floated to remove defects, and fermented for 24 hours in an open tank before depulping. The seeds are then fermented for 48 hours in their mucilage, rinsed, and dried for 3 days in the shade followed by 30 days of slow drying in a darkroom. The coffee features tasting notes of lemon tea, honey, bergamot, jasmine, mandarin, apricot, honeysuckle, buckwheat, and vanilla, with a delicate yet coating body reminiscent of honeyed black tea.
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.
