What are the Panama Geisha Blue Label Coffee Brands and How to Brew Geisha Blue Label Coffee

Awards Records

The following are the award records of Hacienda La Esmeralda:

• 1st Place - Specialty Coffee Association of America Roasters Guild Cupping Pavilion
• 2nd Place - Coffee of the Year
• 1st Place - "Best of Panama"
• 1st Place - Rainforest Alliance for Quality

Panama Geisha (Hacienda La Esmeralda)

Origin: Panama

Region: Slopes of Volcán Barú, the highest peak in western Panama

Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda

Grade: Blue Label

Growing Altitude: 1450M

Processing Method: Fine washed

Special Certification: Green Rainforest Certification

Roast Level: Light roast, city

What is the Panama Coffee Auction?

In 1996, during the lowest stretch of international coffee prices, seven estates in the Boquete and Volcán regions saw the dawn of the specialty coffee era and organized the famous Special Coffees Association of Panama (SCAP). In 2013, the top price for washed Geisha at the Best of Panama auction exceeded $160 USD per pound, while the top natural Geisha, from Hacienda La Esmeralda, brought more than $350 USD per pound.

Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha Brands

Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha comes in three brands, divided by altitude:

• Auction Geisha (ESMERALDA SPECIAL) (Red Label) - Selected from altitudes above 1550 meters
• Boquete Geisha (Green Label) - Geisha selected from 1500 meters
• ESMERALDA 1,500 (Blue Label) - Selected Geisha from around 1500 meters

Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 100g
Packaging: Bulk
Origin: Panama

Brewing Instructions

Hand-brew method for FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Label: 15g of coffee, medium-fine grind (Fuji burr grinder setting 3.5), V60 dripper, water temperature 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Pour to 105g and stop, wait until the water level drops halfway, then slowly pour to 225g. Avoid the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Product Details

Country: Panama

Grade: Blue Label

Region: Slopes of Volcán Barú

Roast Level: Light roast

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Geisha

Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda

Flavor Notes: Oolong tea aroma, peach aroma, honey aroma

Panama · Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha Coffee Beans

The Geisha variety was discovered in Ethiopia's Geisha forest in 1931 and sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya. In 1936 it reached Uganda and Tanzania, and Costa Rica introduced it in 1953. For a long time few people paid it any attention, until Don Pachi first brought it from the small town of Gesha in southwestern Ethiopia to Costa Rica. Geisha then entered Panama along the southern route, where Hacienda La Esmeralda separated it out from other varieties and rode it to a national coffee championship.

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Label Flavor Description

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Label shows oolong tea, peach, and honey aromas, refreshing and comfortable, bright yet balanced, with an extremely strong sense of layered aroma. The whole bouquet is wrapped in caramel sweetness. On the palate the fruit acidity is clear at first and then becomes gentle and round. The fruit sweetness and aftertaste are intense, like a sip of fresh fruit tea that lifts the spirits. The cooler it gets, the more delicate the acidity, and the charm lingers long enough to leave you completely satisfied.

"Geisha" is pronounced the same as the Japanese word for geisha, which gives the coffee its alternate nickname. Because the tree is taller than ordinary coffee trees, it was first planted in a small corner of the estate as a windbreak. The owner's son, preparing for the annual Best of Panama competition, tested every variety on the estate, which gave Geisha its debut. It went on to compete around the world, winning eleven championships in total.

FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha has full sweetness, an extremely clean mouthfeel, and aromas that range from berries and citrus to mango, papaya, and peach. A very distinct bergamot-like aftertaste is another of its typical cupping traits. To this day Geisha remains the champion among coffee varieties.

Panama is one of the most important names on the world coffee map, and its auction beans fetch prices in the hundreds of US dollars every year.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Hacienda La Esmeralda splits its Geisha by altitude, and two labels are the natural next step from the Blue Label. FrontStreet Esmeralda Red Label, officially Esmeralda Special, is grown at 1,600-1,800 meters; every lot cupped above 90 points, each lot carries its own number, and all the beans in a lot come from a single small plot, such as FrontStreet's Red Label from the Harimiyo plot, so buyers can pick the lot that matches their flavor preference. FrontStreet Esmeralda Green Label, officially Private Collection, blends several plots instead of stressing individual plot detail, expressing the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha profile at a friendlier price, which makes it especially good value.

Beginners who simply want a first taste of the famous Geisha character should start with FrontStreet Boquete Geisha, an estate-level entry Geisha planted at 1,600 meters on the fertile volcanic soils of Boquete, where cloudy ridges, moist days, and cool nights favor the variety. Brewed, it shows the jasmine floral note, green tea, honey, and citrus-orange flavors that define Geisha.

Geisha is a medium-light, floral, fruit-forward coffee with a hard bean that tends to sink and clog the drain hole, so FrontStreet Coffee recommends grinding to about fine-sugar size, roughly 78% passing a Chinese standard No. 20 sieve, and brewing at 91°C. FrontStreet uses 15g of coffee in a small Hario V60 at a 1:16 ratio: start the timer and pour to 30g for a 30-second bloom, then pour in a slow circular stream to 125g, wait for the bed to drop halfway, continue a slow circular pour to 225g, and let it drain, for a total extraction of about 2:10 to 2:20.