The Story and Origins of Panama Boquete Morgan Estate Natural Geisha Specialty Coffee Beans

About Morgan Manor

Morgan Manor is located southwest of Baru Volcano, known as Panama's highest peak. The estate covers about five hectares, with an average of two thousand coffee trees per hectare. Because of growing characteristics and cultivation philosophy, only some coffee trees produce cherries each season. The cherries undergo careful selection and processing, and only small amounts of coffee beans reach the market.

Morgan Manor is influenced at once by the Atlantic monsoon climate and the Pacific monsoon climate. The microclimate within the estate is rich and varied, with significant temperature differences between day and night. This slows the maturation of the cherries, allowing fuller development and greater sweetness. Because of the high altitude, the estate's terrain is mostly mountainous, with coffee planted on steep slopes, which makes managing the trees and harvesting the cherries harder. In managing the trees, if one is found to have a pest infestation, the entire tree is removed and the soil is renovated, isolating the disease to protect the other healthy trees.

This keeps Morgan Manor's green bean prices high on the market, and its customers are mainly competition baristas within the coffee industry. These top baristas believe that whether a coffee becomes excellent is decided while it is still a green bean, or even a seed. The Geisha from Morgan Manor, for example, was destined to become an extraordinary cup from its green bean stage.

Hand-poured Morgan Manor

15g of coffee, medium-fine grind (Fuji ghost tooth blade 3.5 grind), V60 dripper, 91-93°C water temperature. Start with 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level drops to half before pouring again, then slowly pour until it reaches 225g total. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Panama Finca Morgan Geisha Volcan Natura

Country: Panama

Variety: Geisha

Region: Volcan, Chiriqui, Panama

Roast Level: Light roast

Processing Method: Natural

Estate: Morgan Manor

Flavor: Rose fragrance, grape, lychee

Geisha is pronounced the same as the Japanese word "geisha," which is why it is also called Geisha coffee. Because the tree grows taller than typical coffee trees, it was originally planted in a small area of the estate and used as a windbreak. When the owner's son wanted to enter the annual Best of Panama competition, he tested every coffee tree variety on the estate, and that is what gave Geisha its chance to shine. Since then it has competed around the world, winning a total of eleven championships.

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 imported it. For a long time, few people paid attention to Geisha, until one day Don Pachi brought it from the small town of Gesha in southwestern Ethiopia to Costa Rica. Geisha then entered Panama along the southern route, where Panama's Esmeralda Estate separated it from other varieties and it won the National Coffee Competition championship.

Geisha has rich sweetness, an extremely clean taste and rich aromas that range from berries and citrus to mango, papaya and peach. A very distinct bergamot-like aftertaste is also typical of its cupping character. To this day, Geisha remains the champion among coffee varieties.

Flavor Description

Rose fragrance, grape and lychee, plus flavors of grape, lychee and dark berries, with a multi-layered sweet-and-sour resonance.

Product Information

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Qian Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
Contact: 020-38364473
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 100g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
State: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Panama
Roast Level: Light roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Panama Geisha is the natural companion to this estate story, and FrontStreet Coffee's Boquete Geisha is the easiest place to begin. Grown at 1,600 meters on volcanic ash soil in Boquete, it delivers jasmine florals with green tea, honey, citrus and orange, an estate-level Geisha at an accessible price.

For a fuller expression of the varietal, FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Green Tag Geisha, the Private Collection line, blends lots from several plots to show the estate's high-altitude Geisha character while keeping the price reasonable. At the top end, FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Red Tag Geisha is grown at 1,600-1,800 meters, each lot must cup above 90 points, and every lot carries its own number.

Brew these lightly roasted Geisha beans through a small Hario V60 at 91°C, using 15g of coffee and a 1:16 ratio with a slow three-stage pour, so the rose and citrus notes stay delicate and the finish stays clean.