On the slopes of Volcán Atitlán lives one of the largest germplasm libraries in Guatemala at Finca San Jerónimo Miramar—the product of four generations of farming by the Bressani family, countless experiments by Anacafe, abandoned variety trials by WCR, and the migration of plants and people from other coffee-growing countries. The farm's use of adaptive genetic management—a conservation practice that uses data about a plant from its productivity to nutrition requirements to quality to disease resistance—means that, through decades and generations, the farm's collection has adapted to the conditions at FSJM and continues to thrive, sometimes even long after the predecessors in their homes of origin have disappeared. One of the cultivars in the collection, Sidra, came to Guatemala via Ecuador, provided by a friend of San Jerónimo, Nicolas Velez of Cafe Velez. Once believed to be a hybrid of Typica and Bourbon, Sidra came from Finca Experimental Chollo—the experimental variety farm owned by Nestle in Ecuador, founded in 1989. The story of the cultivar’s transmission is one that is now infamous: small producers broke into the facility in the middle of the night and stole seeds of unknown origin or provenance—seeds that turned out by Sidra. The coffee that came from those plantings was of high quality, spreading Sidra further still and earning its nicknames of 'the People’s Coffee' from its Robin Hood-like origin story, and 'Gesha Killer' due to its performance in competition—a moniker that hinted at its true origins: like Gesha, genetic testing revealed that Sidra is a descendent of Ethiopian landraces. In an effort to support FSJM’s work in adaptive genetics management and purchase more volume, we’re releasing this washed Sidra through two channels: one roasted by Aviary, with the remainder of the lot sold to micro- and home roasters.
