Panama — Finca Deborah Echo Geisha

Provenance

Introducing the first release in a series of exceptional coffees marking 10 years of Assembly. A celebration of the coffees, relationships and principles that shaped our first decade, and the direction that comes next.

We begin with a coffee that holds a defining place in the Assembly catalogue. An extraordinary Geisha that demonstrates what elevated brewing means to us.

This same coffee was used by Assembly’s Head of Quality, Claire Wallace, to win the UK Barista Championship in 2022.

A welcome return, and a benchmark for everything that follows.

Read more about our 10-Year series here.

Process

Once the cherries reach optimal ripeness, they are hand-picked and de-pulped before being placed into air-tight steel tanks, which are flushed with CO2 to create an oxygen-free environment for fermentation.

This slower, more controlled approach allows the coffee’s natural sweetness and aromatics to develop further, enhancing the character of an already world-class Geisha without compromising clarity.

For this specific maceration, a portion of the removed cascara is reintroduced to the tank, adding an additional layer of flavour complexity – a technique pioneered by Finca Deborah owner Jamison Savage and named the ‘Echo’ process.

After approximately 50 hours, the cascara-infused coffee is removed, gently rinsed and dried slowly in temperature-controlled dry houses on shaded raised beds to around 11% moisture content, preserving balance and structure to produce a truly exceptional final cup.