Jhoan Vergara-Producer Spotlight
Apothecary Collection · 180g Release
Peach Mango Apple Lemongrass
| Producer Jhoan Vergara | Farm Finca Las Flores | Region Huila, Colombia | Process Natural | Variety Gesha |
Finca Las Flores · Palestina, Huila · June 2025
Some coffees make you stop mid-sip. This is one of them. Jhoan Vergara's natural gesha from Finca Las Flores is exactly the kind of lot the Apothecary Collection was built around: a producer who treats the farm as a laboratory, who pays attention to every variable, and whose results speak for themselves in the cup.
This is a really clean expression of a natural gesha. It's fruit-forward and vibrant, with tropical notes of mango and peach, balanced by apple-like sweetness and a soft lemongrass finish. Despite being a natural process, there's no muddiness here. The clarity is a direct reflection of how carefully this coffee was handled from cherry to bag.
Jhoan Vergara · Finca Las Flores
The Farm
Finca Las Flores sits in the Palestina municipality of Huila, one of Colombia's most celebrated coffee-producing departments. The farm is run by Jhoan Vergara and his family, and it is, by any standard, exceptional. Santiago has visited the farm firsthand and describes it as one of the most impressive coffee operations he has ever seen. That's not a phrase we use lightly.
Santiago examining a natural-process lot on the drying beds
Jhoan is a young producer, but the operation reflects a maturity and intentionality that goes well beyond his years. Every detail at Finca Las Flores is considered: varietals are selected and cultivated with precision, processing is experimental but disciplined, and the family's commitment to quality at every stage of production is evident the moment you arrive on the property.
"Jhoan's farm is one of the most impressive Santiago has ever visited. The level of care he puts into every step of production is something you have to see to fully appreciate."
We've now worked with Jhoan year after year, and each harvest brings new lots that push what we thought possible from this terroir. He's the kind of producer who makes us excited to go to origin, and even more excited to come home and share what we found.
The Process
What separates Finca Las Flores from most farms isn't just the varietal selection, it's the infrastructure behind the processing. Jhoan has invested in equipment and systems that most producers at his scale simply don't have access to, and it shows in the cup.
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Reviewing processing parameters at the mill
The kind of infrastructure that separates exceptional lots from good ones
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On Gesha
Gesha is an Ethiopian landrace varietal originally traced to the Gori Gesha forest in the Kaffa region. It gained global recognition after its extraordinary showing at the Best of Panama auction in the early 2000s, where a gesha from Hacienda La Esmeralda broke all previous records and rewired how the specialty coffee world thought about variety as a flavour driver.
Since those early Panama lots, producers across Latin America have been cultivating gesha at high elevations, and Colombia, particularly Huila and Cauca, has emerged as one of the most compelling homes for the varietal outside its Panamanian context. Colombian geshas tend to express the variety's characteristic florality alongside a sweetness and structural clarity that comes from the country's volcanic soils and the thermal amplitude of its mountainous growing conditions.
Jhoan's lot leans into that Colombian expression beautifully. The lemongrass and tropical fruit notes are unmistakably gesha, but they're grounded by an apple-like brightness that keeps the cup feeling clean and composed rather than overwhelming.
Selecting the Lot
The cupping room at origin
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The Competition Record
This lot is part of our Apothecary Collection and carries competition credentials that we're genuinely proud of. Jhoan's coffees have appeared on the Canadian national stage multiple times across different competitions and different hands at The Colombian.
| Competition Placements Using Jhoan Vergara's Coffees | |
| 6 Santiago | Canadian National Barista Championship · 2025 |
| 5 Kat | Canadian National Barista Championship · 2025 |
| 9 Kristen B. | Canadian National Brewers Cup · 2026 |
The Colombian team meeting with Jhoan at the coffee expo in Houston
What's notable is that these results came from different varietals across different years, which speaks to the consistency of Jhoan's farm as a whole, not just a single standout lot. We love competing with his coffees. There's a reason we keep coming back.
Why This Lot, Why Now
The Apothecary Collection is reserved for producers who approach coffee growing with a scientific, experimental mindset, and who work with unique varietals in precise ways. Jhoan fits that profile entirely. We're featuring more of his lots in the coming months, and this natural release is the opening note in that series.
The photos accompanying this post are from Santiago's most recent trip to Finca Las Flores in June 2025. Jhoan welcomed him with full hospitality, and the visit ended with a barbecue shared with the family and team on the farm.
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That kind of relationship, built over multiple harvests and years of trust, is what makes these coffees different.
The Colombian · Apothecary Collection · 180g Release