MARLON BOLAÑOS – GESHA, WASHED - COLOMBIA

SHOEBOX
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

MARLON BOLAÑOS – GESHA, WASHED

YELLOW FIG
PINEAPPLE
BERGAMOT

ORIGIN: COLOMBIA
PRODUCER: MARLON BOLAÑOS
VARIETAL: GESHA
PROCESS: WASHED

ROAST DATE: JUNE 8, 2026

FROM THE ROASTER

AS WE NEAR OUR 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF LAUNCHING SHOEBOX, COLOMBIA SEASON IS WELL UNDERWAY AND WE ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN EXTREMELY HIGH QUALITY, ADVANCED FERMENTATION GESHAS. THIS PAST HARVEST HAS TRULY BROUGHT US SOME OF THE BEST COFFEES WE’VE EVER HAD, AND THIS FRUIT BOMB FROM MARLON BOLAÑOS’S PROJECT “THE THREE COFFEE FARMERS” IS AMONGST THE BEST OF THEM. DESPITE GROWING UP IN A COFFEE PRODUCING FAMILY, IT WASN’T UNTIL THE AGE OF 17 THAT MARLON TOOK AN INTEREST IN IT, SIGNING HIMSELF UP FOR A BARISTA EDUCATION COURSE AT SENA WHERE HE LEARNED BREWING, GREEN COFFEE GRADING, AND SENSORY ANALYSIS. UPON RETURNING FROM THAT COURSE, MARLON BEGAN PLANTING DIFFERENTIATED VARIETALS LIKE PINK BOURBON, GESHA, AND CHIROSO WHILE EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW FERMENTATION TECHNIQUES ON EACH SUBSEQUENT HARVEST. FLASH FORWARD TO TODAY, AND THE FARM IS NOW OWNED BY MARLON AND HIS 2 BROTHERS, PEDRO AND HEMERSON. MARLON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR QUALITY CONTROL, FERMENTATION PROTOCOLS, SAMPLING AND PART OF THE LOGISTICS OPERATIONS. MARLON HAS ALSO COMPETED AND WON IN SEVERAL BARISTA AND BREWING COMPETITIONS OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, TAKING SPRING WATER FROM HIS FAMILY’S FARM FOR BREWING. IT’S ESPECIALLY SUITED FOR COFFEE DUE TO THE NATURAL TRACE MINERAL COMPOSITION, AND NOW COVETED BY PEERS AFTER EARNING THE NAME “CHAMPION’S WATER.” THIS SPECIFIC WASHED GESHA LOT HAS QUITE AN INTERESTING PROCESS TO IT, HAVING BEEN SUBMERGED IN CHERRY UNDERWATER FOR 48 HOURS BEFORE BEING DRAINED, LEFT IN THE SAME BARRELS DRY TO FURTHER FERMENT NATURALLY FOR 48 HOURS BEFORE BEING FULLY WASHED AND DRIED ON RAISED BEDS.

THIS ADVANCED PROCESSING CREATES AN EXTREMELY UNIQUE CUP, BURSTING WITH YELLOW FLORALS, YELLOW FIG, STARFRUIT, MANGO AND A COMPLEX CITRUS NOTE THAT REMINDS US OF GRAPEFRUIT AND POMELO. THE INTENSE JUICINESS AND ACIDITY HERE ABSOLUTELY LEAPT OFF THE CUPPING TABLE AND WE CONFIRMED OUR FORWARD CONTRACT AFTER THE FIRST SIP.

ABOUT MARLON BOLAÑOS

MARLON BOLAÑOS IS A PRODUCER FROM A COFFEE GROWING FAMILY IN COLOMBIA AND PART OF THE PROJECT “THE THREE COFFEE FARMERS,” WHICH HE OPERATES ALONGSIDE HIS BROTHERS PEDRO AND HEMERSON. AFTER DEVELOPING HIS SKILLS THROUGH FORMAL BARISTA TRAINING AT SENA, MARLON RETURNED TO HIS FAMILY FARM WITH A FOCUS ON QUALITY, EXPERIMENTATION, AND INNOVATION. TODAY, HE LEADS QUALITY CONTROL, FERMENTATION DESIGN, AND SAMPLING, WHILE CONTINUING TO PUSH THE BOUNDARIES OF PROCESSING AND VARIETAL DEVELOPMENT. HIS WORK HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED THROUGH MULTIPLE BARISTA AND BREWING COMPETITIONS, AND HIS APPROACH REFLECTS A DEEP COMMITMENT TO PRECISION AND EXCELLENCE IN COFFEE.