Raúl Solis Paiz - Gesha Natural Process

Know Your Coffee: Finca Tizaquin - Gesha Natural - Raúl Solis Paiz

When Kati & I first started dating her Uncle Jorge asked me if I like dating Latinas. I nervously laughed & responded, “…I like Kati.” - & It has been a running joke ever since.

At the time, Reprise was just starting out & operated a tiny cafe within the Lake Forest Train Station - on the quiet side of town. We had an ambition to seek out coffees where we could curate a relationship between us & the farms we purchased from instead of being handcuffed to buying through importers. We felt, & still feel, that this is a more authentic way of doing business & made coffee more real to us.

Jorge talked passionately about their roots in Guatemala & the conversation naturally progressed to coffee. At the time, their family grew only commercial coffees - think large production lots that are mainly used for instant coffees & the like.

As we fast forward some years down the line, Kati & I had married and became life partners as well as business partners in Reprise. Together, we operate three bustling cafes in Chicagoland & have found a home in Evanston, IL where we feel confident in settling down to invest further into our community to build the coffee scene. The Specialty Coffee Association finally made its way to Chicago & I can’t really describe the feeling of how great it was to have this Expo in our hometown. This year.

Uncle Jorge is a person in our family that I hope everyone has. He’s the guy that’s always hosting family outings & making excuses to all be together. He does whatever is necessary to keep together. Regardless of everyones challenging lives & even sometimes met with reluctancy - I appreciate that he never quits.

The SCA Expo in Chicago along with Uncle Jorge - were catalysts to recconect with Kati’s family in Guatemala.

Within those handful of years since we last talked coffee, a lot had changed. Kati’s Great Aunt, Thelma & proprietor of the family farm had passed. She split the land into separate fincas & divided them amongst her three children - Raul, Rolando & Maria De Los Angeles

These farms were the first to ever plant coffee in the region of Esquipulas & later were commissioned by ANACAFE - the National Coffee Association of Guatemala to grow high quality specialty coffee for their nationwide competition.

Raul took this challenge to heart. He planted Gesha seeds on the most fertile part of his land on Finca Tizaquin. Using banana trees for shade which also add essential nutrients for coffee plants creating a symbiotic relationship. He uses all natural fertilizers that he created himself & spent several years laboring love on these coffee trees until they were mature enough to produce coffee. 2023 was the first substantial harvest & proudly won 3rd place overall in Guatemala.

The biggest challenge for specialty coffee producers is finding a market that is willing to pay for an elevated product. Fair Trade certified coffees clock in under $2/lb for the raw product which is, in most cases, at or below the cost of production & doesn’t incentivize farmers to continue producing higher cupping varieties such as Gesha.

When roasters & farmers develop their own relationships together, we can identify which needs are essential to move the process forward & make coffee better. All in, it’s nothing short of a miracle when these factors align.

Today, we are excited to have achieved just that. While Raul has a passion for coffee beyond the commodified product - he was lacking the market to continue feeding that dream & decided he wouldn’t continue in the specialty coffee sector - That is, until we offered to purchase the entire Gesha lot & discussed how we can sustain his process for years to come.

Kati & I are excited to be apart of this experience & share it with you, our friends who have been supporting this dream & mantra since we began 9 years ago.

THE COFFEE: This Natural Process Gesha is a full production of just 100lbs in total. We are anticipating the harvest to naturally grow to 500lbs next year as the young trees continue to mature.

The flavor profile exceeds our standard of what we consider to be Specialty Coffee. Clockin-in at 90+ points - we offer you the very first of its kind: Gesha from Finca Tizaquin.

Expect jammy notes of mixed berry compote & ripe figs, a creamy body that reminds us of a craft milk-chocolate bar. Long & extended notes of complexity that leave your palate watering for more.