Read More: Gesha Santa Ana

Twenty Years, One Extraordinary Coffee: Gesha Santa Ana

Twenty years is a milestone worth celebrating.

It is an opportunity to look back at where we began, recognize the people who helped shape us, and recommit to what we want Bird Rock Coffee Roasters to represent for the next twenty years.

We could have created an anniversary blend. But when we thought about the coffee that would best tell our story, the answer was not a blend at all.

It was a single-origin coffee from one producer, one farm, and one relationship that has grown alongside Bird Rock for more than a decade.

Introducing Gesha Santa Ana, our 20th-anniversary coffee.

A Relationship Rooted in Quality 

High on the slopes of La Gavia mountain in Guatemala’s Santa Rosa region, between the Tecuamburro and Pacaya volcanoes, sits Finca Santa Ana.

The farm was established by Roberto Díaz in 1983 and is now led by his son, Fernando “Nando” Díaz. Bird Rock’s relationship with the Díaz family began in 2010, when we became one of the first two roasters to partner directly with the farm.

By then, Santa Ana had already begun establishing itself as one of Guatemala’s exceptional coffee producers.

The farm earned five placements in Guatemala’s Cup of Excellence:

• 10th place in 2007
• 15th place in 2009
• 4th place in 2010
• 9th place in 2012
• 16th place in 2015

Those awards were earned with Santa Ana’s traditional coffee varieties, including Bourbon, Catuaí, and Pache. But Nando was already thinking about what might come next.

Searching for the Next Great Coffee

By 2015, Nando and his brother had noticed a shift taking place in coffee competitions. Distinctive varieties such as Gesha, SL28, and Pacamara were increasingly appearing among the highest-scoring coffees.

They wanted Santa Ana to continue evolving, but finding those seeds in Guatemala was difficult. For many producers, rare varieties had become part of a farm’s identity—something closely protected rather than freely shared.

So the brothers widened their search, reaching out through coffee buyers and producers across Panama, Costa Rica, and Colombia.

During his regular visits to Santa Ana, Bird Rock founder Chuck Patton heard Nando speak about the project as it moved from an idea toward reality. Seeds needed to be sourced. Paperwork needed to be pushed through. But the plans were being put into motion.

Chuck contributed to the seed project by providing his input, data, cupping knowledge, and experience with different seeds. Additionally, he offered financial support to help make the collaborative project a reality. More importantly, the project became a collaboration shaped by the trust Bird Rock and Santa Ana had already built together.

For Nando, that kind of partnership is what makes coffee different from nearly every other business.

“This business is a totally different game in terms of relationships,” he told us. “I would say friendship. The conversations are held differently.”

In 2015, Bird Rock and Santa Ana worked together to source approximately fifteen new coffee varieties for the farm’s experimental garden. In 2016, the first seeds were planted in the field.

Nando chose to plant the Gesha at the highest reaches of Santa Ana, where elevation, climate, and careful farm management could give the variety the best opportunity to express itself.

Then came the waiting.

Coffee does not reward shortcuts. A newly planted tree requires years of care before it produces a harvest. Every decision—from spacing and pruning to picking and processing—shapes a cup that does not yet exist.

That patience is part of what makes this coffee meaningful.

The First Cup

In 2017, Chuck introduced Nando to Jeff Taylor, his friend and Bird Rock’s new owner. During Jeff’s first visit to Santa Ana, they finally sat down to taste the farm’s Gesha together.

It was the first time anyone had cupped a Gesha grown at Santa Ana.

Nando still remembers what they discovered.

“We had those rose notes in the cup,” he said. “I remember that very clearly.”

That cup represented years of searching, planting, learning, and trusting that the work would eventually reveal something extraordinary.

It also marked a new chapter in a relationship that had endured through changes at both the farm and Bird Rock. Roberto’s vision had passed to Nando and his family. Bird Rock had passed from one friend to another. Through it all, the commitment to the coffee—and to one another—remained.

Why This Coffee Defines Our Anniversary

For twenty years, Bird Rock has built its identity around carefully sourced, single-origin coffees and meaningful relationships with the people who produce them.

Direct Trade, to us, has never been a line on a package. It means returning year after year. It means listening, learning, and investing in relationships whose best results may take years to emerge.

Gesha Santa Ana embodies that philosophy.

This is not simply a rare variety from a celebrated farm. It is the result of a shared idea that began more than a decade ago. It connects Bird Rock’s founder with its current owner, a father’s legacy with the next generation, and Santa Ana’s award-winning history with its drive to keep experimenting.

Rather than blending many coffees to commemorate twenty years, we chose one coffee that expresses what has always mattered most to us: a remarkable place, an exceptional producer, and a relationship built for the long term.

This label is a nod to our original location in Bird Rock, La Jolla, which opened in 2006. It embodies so much of who we are: community, a place to slow down, conversations shared over delicious coffee, and a welcoming space where stories have been told and friendships have grown for nearly two decades. It’s a reminder of where we started and the people who have made Bird Rock what it is today.

Twenty years brought us to this cup. We hope you will be part of where it takes us next.