Import into Beanconqueror
Vivid Geisha showcases Iris Estate’s mastery of carbonic maceration, where whole cherries ferment briefly in CO₂-flushed tanks to create a clean, vibrant cup. The result is an elegant Geisha with bright yellow-fruit notes, refined acidity, and a beautifully balanced finish.
This coffee’s roasted in our filter style — meaning it’s designed to shine as black coffee rather than with milk. That doesn’t mean you have to brew it as a pour-over though. You can make it however you like — espresso, moka pot, AeroPress or anything in between. We simply roast it a little lighter to highlight the bean’s origin flavours giving you a cup that’s clean, vibrant and full of clarity.
Lighter roasting keeps more of the natural acidity and sweetness intact which makes for a beautifully expressive black coffee. This coffee is best enjoyed without milk as it’s too acidic and the flavours don’t pair well once milk is added.
If you prefer your milk coffee with richer caramel, toffee or nutty flavours you might enjoy our espresso range more. Those roasts are taken a little darker to bring out deeper sweetness and balance beautifully with milk.
Origin and Sourcing
Varietal:
Geisha
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Geisha (or Gesha), originally from Ethiopia, gained fame through Panamanian farms for its outstanding floral and tea-like cup profile. Often described as jasmine, bergamot, and stone fruit in the cup, it commands some of the highest prices in specialty coffee. It has low yields and is challenging to grow but highly sought after for competition and premium markets.
Processing Method:
Washed CM
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The CM Washed method combines traditional washed coffee processing with techniques borrowed from the wine industry—specifically, carbonic maceration. In this process, whole coffee cherries are placed into sealed stainless steel tanks filled with carbon dioxide, creating an oxygen-free environment that slows fermentation and allows for unique flavour development. After this controlled fermentation, the cherries are pulped and washed as in a standard washed process.
This hybrid method often results in a remarkably clean cup profile with heightened clarity and floral complexity, while still retaining vibrant acidity and structured fruit notes. Expect coffees processed with CM Washed to be both precise and expressive, with a distinctively refined character.
Producer:
Jamison Savage, Sasa Sestic, Elvin Siew
Farm:
Iris Estate
Region / Area:
Volcan
Altitude:
1850–2222 MASL
Harvest Period:
December
–
June 2025
Sourcing Partner:
Project Origin
Coffee Storage
Frozen
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For our exotic coffee, we store all the green beans frozen at -22°C in commercial freezers. This locks in freshness, halting enzymatic reactions that degrade flavor. Upon arrival we separate into small 2-3kg vacuum-sealed lots and freeze so that our greens do not age and we can sell these exotic coffees for years to come or until sold out.
Roast Details
Roast Style
Filter
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Filter roasts are lighter with a shorter development time, designed to highlight clarity, acidity, and fruit-driven complexity — perfect for black coffee and filter methods. These roasts can also be used for espresso, especially if you enjoy brighter, more vibrant shots. Try longer brew ratios or turbo shots to tame acidity and bring out sweetness. Espresso roasts, on the other hand, are developed further to encourage deeper caramelization and Maillard reactions, producing richer, chocolatey, and nutty flavours that shine in milk and offer a fuller-bodied espresso.
We don't usually roast omni (one roast for all brew methods) — in our experience, it tends to be a compromise that's average at both. But occasionally, for larger lots or versatile blends, we may do an omni roast to suit both black and milk drinkers.
Roasted On:
Roest L100 Ultra
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The ROEST L100 Ultra is the most advanced sample roaster in its class, combining the precision of the L100 Plus with next-generation hardware upgrades and new airflow technology. A redesigned, fully perforated drum with reversible rotation introduces a counterflow mode that channels air directly through the bean mass—allowing faster, more efficient heat transfer and enabling lighter roasts or second crack in under 90 seconds. With upgraded 5 GHz Wi-Fi, a faster processor, built-in pressure sensor, and refreshed UI matching the P3000, the Ultra offers better batch consistency (even at 50g), improved airflow calibration, and lower energy consumption. It’s a serious tool for roasters wanting unmatched control, speed, and repeatability—while still fitting neatly on the benchtop.
Taste Profile
Tasting Notes:
Jasmine, Yellow Peach, Brown Sugar, Apricot, Medium Body, Low to Medium Acidity, High Sweetness
Cupping Score:
90.0
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Our coffees are scored using the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) protocol by Q Grader–certified cuppers. A score of 80+ qualifies as specialty grade — clean, well-processed, and high quality. 80–84 coffees are more common and often used in blends. 85–87 are brighter, more complex, and better suited for high-quality filter brews. 88–90 are exceptional, and 90+ coffees are ultra-rare, often Cup of Excellence (COE) winners — the best in the world.
Suitable To Go With Milk?:
No
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Some of our light roasted filter coffees are bursting with bright, fruity acidity—think citrus, berries, or tropical notes. While these flavours shine on their own, they don't always play well with milk. The acidity can clash with milk's natural sweetness and creaminess, sometimes creating sour or chalky flavours.
Decaffeinated?
No
Panama | Iris Estate | Jamison Savage | Geisha CM Washed VIVID 2025 | Signature Series - When is peak freshness?
Medium Roast - Roasted on Roest L100 Ultra
View other coffees in our Iris Esatate Collection here
About VIVID
Iris Estate CM Washed
Varietal: Geisha
Process: Carbonic Maceration (CM) Washed
Lot: Vivid
Processing Details
- Cherries are harvested perfectly ripe at 20–22º Brix.
- Cherries are carefully selected a second time and separated according to sections of the farm.
- Whole cherries are placed inside sealed tanks filled with CO₂, displacing all oxygen to create a controlled anaerobic environment.
- Cherries ferment briefly under regulated temperatures to develop bright yellow-fruit characteristics.
- After fermentation, cherries are pulped, thoroughly washed, and spread in thin layers to dry on multi-tiered raised African beds under precise conditions at Iris Estate.
- The Iris Estate drying room maintains strict control over temperature, humidity, and airflow to optimise flavour and uniformity.
- Drying typically takes 20–25 days, reducing moisture content to 10–12%.
- Beans are stored in parchment inside GrainPro bags to rest and stabilise before hulling.
- Once stabilised, the coffee is hulled and carefully sorted by density, size, shape, and colour before being lightly vacuum-sealed for export.
About Iris Estate
Finca Iris Estate is the latest venture initiated by three exceptionally talented coffee professionals, each driven by a distinct vision for the future of coffee. Their shared belief is that specialty coffee should embody the unique terroir in which the beans are grown, rather than merely reflecting processing techniques. This philosophy guides their quest for the perfect cup.
To showcase this dedication to terroir, producer Jamison Savage has planted a variety of coffee cultivars across the Estate at different elevations, all while preserving the natural landscape and forest. He believes that minimal interference with the ecosystem allows the coffee cherries to fully express the natural flavors and characteristics of their environment. With this approach, Finca Iris Estate is emerging as a beacon of what ultra-specialty coffee cultivation can achieve, and the team is committed to sharing their work with the world.
The three main objectives at Iris Estate for advancing the future of specialty coffee agriculture are: ensuring the coffees truly represent the land from which they originate, enhancing the sustainability of the farm and the well-being of its workers, and bridging the gap between producers and consumers. They aim to achieve this third goal by transparently sharing the processes of cultivation, growth, harvest, and production through online platforms, creating a space where consumers and baristas can connect with the lives of specialty coffee producers in Panama. As this bridge strengthens the connection within the supply chain, the Iris Estate team hopes to shift the industry's focus towards celebrating the producers' work and recognizing that the true value of quality lies in the trees themselves.
About Jamison Savage
Savage Coffee is a project founded by Jamison Savage in Panama's Boquete region. Jamison has established himself as one of the world's most refined coffee producers, with his farm, Finca Deborah, earning top honors in prestigious coffee competitions globally. His coffees are now in such high demand that they are often pre-booked well before the season begins.
For over a decade, Jamison has been perfecting his processing techniques at Finca Deborah. One of his standout lots, Iridescence, is crafted using a method called carbonic maceration, which he adapted from the wine industry. This technique, which Jamison and a select few began employing in 2015, involves fermenting the coffee in a carbon dioxide-rich environment. The process develops a complex flavor profile, enhancing the coffee's fresh fruit and floral notes.
To create Iridescence, Jamison starts with perfectly ripe Geisha varietal coffee cherries, pulping them to leave some fruit on the beans. The beans are then placed in CO2-infused tanks for up to two days, with meticulous monitoring to ensure optimal fermentation. Finally, the beans are dried on raised beds, turned every 30 minutes to ensure even drying, and packed in vacuum-sealed bags.
Another exceptional offering, the Anthem lot, is a classic natural-processed Geisha. This coffee is slowly dried for over 25 days on a custom-built, tiered raised bed system.
Savage Coffees are produced by growers who have a deep respect for their environment and share core values of sustainability, quality, and innovation. The terroir—meaning the environmental conditions in which these coffees are cultivated—is ideal for producing fine coffee. All of our coffees are shade-grown, strictly hard bean, and nurtured in nutrient-rich volcanic soils.
Iris Estate Geisha AfterGlow Lot Processing Details
- Cherries are meticulously harvested perfectly ripe at a reading over 21ºBrix
- Cherries are immediately taken to the drying house at Finca Deborah and spread out on the top level of the three tier, raised African bed system
- Cherries are maintained at a specific depth of layering to prevent over-fermentation
- The Finca Deborah drying room controls temperature, heat, humidity and airflow toensure cherries have optimal conditions to enhance the best flavours
- Cherries are consistently agitated throughout the day during the first several days to enable consistent drying and to prevent mould
- After several days on the top level under direct sunlight cherries are moved to the
second level to continue drying for up to 30 days - Slower, labourious, and methodical drying processes prove essential to allow the coffee to absorb layered, natural and complex flavours from the fruit
- Moisture content is reduced to 10.5-11%
- Beans are stored in dried cherry pods and placed in grain-pro bags that are stored in bodega for up to 90 days
- This “reposo” or rest period allows the coffee to stabilise and equalise its humidity levels while also absorbing more flavours and sweetness from the dried fruit
Beans are then hulled and selected for density, size, shape and colour before being
lightly vacuum sealed ready for export
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Coffee in Panama
- Though small in coffee production, Panama is a mighty player in coffee quality. In particular, Panama is famous for producing Geisha variety lots that have fetched prices exceeding $800 per pound. Today, its renown as a producer of rare and sought-after varieties positions Panama as a contender for a new kind of ‘coffee-tourism’ that has the potential to change the way we produce, purchase, consume and talk about specialty coffee on a global scale.
The high value of Geisha has brought out both the best and worst in the industry. For established producers who receive excellent prices for their Geisha and other lots, the high prices they receive have often been reinvested in their communities and in renovating their farms to be as environmentally sustainable as possible. Unfortunately, the lure of Geisha’s high value has led some people bypass traditional land purchasing agreements and illegally deforest areas of national parks to get the best location for new (and illicit) Geisha farms.
Even as the number of producers those receiving high prices for their Geisha remains relatively low, the blossoming coffee industry in Panama has demonstrated potential to raise incomes for a wider spectrum of producers and coffee workers.
SKU: iris_estate_2025_vivid_80g
Package Weight: 150g
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