Producer: Jamison Savage
Farm: Finca Deborah
Region: Volcán, Chiriquí, Panama
Variety: Geisha
Process: Washed Carbonic Maceration
Altitude: 1900 masl
Harvested: 2026
Cupping notes: Violet, pomegranate, nectarine, jasmine and vibrant citrus.
In 2008, Jamison and Leslie Savage moved their family to Panama and began building Finca Deborah. High in the mountains of Volcán, above 1,900 metres, the farm took shape beneath an existing rainforest canopy, surrounded by volcanic soils, cool nights and persistent cloud cover.
Growing coffee here demands patience. At these elevations, cherries mature slowly, and every stage - from selecting ripe fruit to drying the processed beans - requires close attention. Jamison combined that work in the field with a fascination for fermentation, drawing inspiration from winemaking to explore what carefully controlled processing could bring to coffee.
Illumination is part of that exploration. This Geisha undergoes washed carbonic maceration: the coffee is placed in sealed tanks filled with carbon dioxide, displacing oxygen and allowing fermentation to take place under controlled conditions. It is then washed and carefully dried. The technique gives the producer greater control over a stage that can profoundly influence the finished coffee.
Illumination also has a history on the competition stage. Mikael Jasin used Deborah Illumination to place fourth at the 2019 World Barista Championship in Boston. It was also the coffee used by Lablibell Bajabrias to win the 2018 UAE National Brewers Cup.
The estate’s wider achievements include the washed Geisha that Berg Wu used to win the 2016 World Barista Championship, here in Dublin.
Behind Illumination is the work that earned that trust: years of cultivation, experimentation and precise decisions, made long before the coffee reaches a roaster. It offers a chance to brew a Geisha from a farm whose work has helped shape what competition coffee can be.
Transparency.
What we paid:
-Coffee: 190€/Kg
-Shipping: 2.50€/Kg
-Packaging & labelling: 2€
Quantity bought: 10 Kg
