FrontStreet Coffee Panama La Esmeralda Geisha Coffee Beans Blue Label Washed Processing Freshly Roasted Authentic 100g

Shelf life: 90 days

Net weight: 100g

Packaging: bulk

Origin: Panama

Panama Geisha (Hacienda La Esmeralda)

• Country: Panama
• Grade: Blue Label
• Region: On the slopes of Baru Mountain
• Roast level: Light roast
• Processing method: Washed
• Variety: Geisha
• Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda
• Flavor notes: Oolong tea aroma, peach fragrance, honey sweetness

"Geisha" is pronounced the same as the Japanese word for geisha, which is why it is also written as Geisha coffee. Because the trees are taller than typical coffee varieties, they were originally planted in a small area within the estate and used as windbreaks. It was only when the estate owner's son searched the whole estate for the best varieties to enter Panama's annual best coffee competition that Geisha had its moment to shine. It went on to compete in various international coffee competitions, winning eleven championships in total.

The Geisha variety was discovered in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia in 1931 and then sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya. In 1936 it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania, and in 1953 Costa Rica began cultivating it. For a long time Geisha drew little attention, until one day Don Pachi brought it from the small town of Gesha in southwestern Ethiopia to Costa Rica. Later it traveled along the southern route into Panama, where Hacienda La Esmeralda separated it from other varieties, and it went on to win the national coffee championship.

Geisha offers rich sweetness, an exceptionally clean mouthfeel, and abundant aromas ranging from berries and citrus to mango, papaya, and peach. A very distinct bergamot-like aftertaste is also one of its typical cupping characteristics. To this day, Geisha remains the champion among coffee varieties.

Panama is one of the most important regions on the world coffee map, and beans from its annual auctions regularly fetch prices of hundreds of dollars.

What Is the Panama Coffee Auction?

In 1996, during the lowest period of international coffee prices, seven coffee estates in the Boquete and Volcan regions saw the dawn of the specialty coffee era and organized the famous Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP). In 2013, the highest bid for washed Geisha at BOP exceeded $160 per pound, while the highest bid for natural Geisha went to a lot from Hacienda La Esmeralda at over $350 per pound.

Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha has three brands, classified by altitude:

• Esmeralda Special (Red Label): selected from altitudes above 1,550 meters
• Boquete Geisha (Green Label): selected from 1,500 meters
• Esmeralda 1500 (Blue Label): selected from altitudes around 1,500 meters

Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha Coffee Beans

• Origin: Panama
• Region: on the slopes of Baru Mountain, the highest peak in western Panama
• Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda
• Grade: Blue Label
• Growing altitude: 1450m
• Processing method: fine washed processing
• Special certification: Rainforest Alliance Certified
• Roast level: light roast (city-)

Flavor description: oolong tea aroma, peach fragrance, and honey sweetness, refreshing and comfortable, bright yet balanced, with exceptionally complex aromatic layers. The whole aroma is wrapped in caramel sweetness. On entry the tongue meets a distinct fruit acidity that becomes gentle and rounded in the mouth. The fruit sweetness and aftertaste are intense, like drinking a cup of fresh fruit tea that refreshes the heart. The lower the temperature, the more delicate the acidity becomes, and the profile is remarkably persistent.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you want to experience the rumored Geisha flavor before committing to a higher tier, FrontStreet Coffee usually suggests the Panama Boquete Geisha, an entry-level Geisha that delivers the classic orange-blossom honey of high-quality Panama Geisha at a friendly price, with an oolong-tea body, a fine fruit acidity, and clearly defined layers. It drinks beautifully as a pour-over.

For the top of the range, FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Red Label comes from the Mario plot in Jaramillo at over 1,650 meters on average, where the cool, moist mountain air lets the Geisha ripen slowly. Using natural processing, it presents an intoxicating aroma of rose, citrus, berries, and honey. Because Geisha is a medium-light, floral and fruity bean with a hard texture that tends to sink and clog the dripper, FrontStreet suggests grinding to a fine-sugar size (about 78% passing a No. 20 sieve) and brewing with 91°C water, 15g of coffee in a small Hario V60, and a 1:16 ratio poured in three stages: 30g for a 30-second bloom, then to 125g, then to 225g, for a total of about 2:10 to 2:20.