The Aroma of Geisha Coffee Beans, Origin of Geisha Coffee Flavor Profile

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FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha Coffee

Origin: Ethiopia Color: Blue-green Characteristics: Floral notes, tropical fruits, intense sweetness

Geisha is an extremely rare coffee variety that has continuously created sensations among global coffee connoisseurs over the past 5+ years. It is considered the brightest, most complex, and highly aromatic coffee variety.

Geisha possesses full sweetness, an exceptionally clean mouthfeel, and rich aromas that range from berries and citrus to mango, papaya, and peach. A very distinct bergamot-like aftertaste is also one of its typical cupping attributes. To date, Geisha has remained the champion among coffee varieties. [Cupping Notes] Moderate body, sweet, multi-layered tropical fruit flavors, rose-like aroma, with a pleasant aftertaste.

In 1931, Geisha seeds were discovered in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia and sent to Kenya's premier coffee research institute. In 1936, Geisha coffee was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania. In 1953, Costa Rica also began importing this coffee variety. Finally, in the 1970s, Mr. Francisco Serracin from the Tumbagua farm in Panama obtained seeds from Costa Rica's CATIE and began growing Geisha coffee. Due to extremely low yields and competitive bidding requirements, these beans are truly hard to come by.

In 1931, Geisha traveled unremarkably from Geisha Mountain in southwestern Ethiopia to Kenya, Tanzania, and Costa Rica, only being transplanted to Panama in the 1960s. After nearly half a century, it suddenly rose to fame, defeating long-established coffee champions like Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, and Typica to sweep the first prizes in the Panama National Treasure Coffee Cupping Competition for 2005, 2006, and 2007. In 2007, Geisha won the championship again at the International Famous Coffee Bean Cupping Competition hosted by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), with a bidding price of $130 per pound, setting the highest price record for competition beans in history.

It is reported that later Panama National Treasure Coffee competitions were divided into Geisha and non-Geisha categories to prevent Geisha from stealing the spotlight from other varieties. Geisha belongs to the Typica family, yet it gained fame over seventy years after leaving Ethiopia, further confirming the notion that Ethiopia is the genetic treasure trove of Arabica coffee. casually giving away one variety is enough to make waves in the coffee market.

For a long time in the past, the recognition of premium coffee mostly followed Japanese trends. However, Geisha swept through the coffee world with hurricane-like force. This coffee revolution came with such momentum that even the long-reigning king and queen of the coffee kingdom—Jamaica Blue Mountain and Hawaii Kona—had to step aside.

FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha Coffee Beans

Panama Geisha grows at altitudes between 1500 and 1650 meters, where its unique growing environment creates distinctive flavor characteristics:

Raw Geisha coffee beans possess a jade-like warm texture and beautiful blue-green color. They smell of fresh grass, peach aroma, berry notes, and the oolong tea milky sweetness that most coffee beans lack. However, the faint tea aroma is also intriguing.

The roasted beans show some "wrinkles" on their surface. These "wrinkles" in coffee beans are meant to highlight their original flavor and fruit acidity. If the raw bean quality is not high, it may carry some off-flavors, such as muddy earthy notes, withered grass flavors, and astringent tastes—flavors that roasters should try to avoid. FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Geisha coffee beans have fresh lemon-citrus aroma and sweet honey-cream notes.

To highlight the characteristics and aroma of these coffee beans, the roast level is brought to the verge of second crack. The verge of second crack and first crack of second crack are commonly used roast levels, as these best bring out the beans' inherent characteristics. Light roasting may produce off-flavors, while too dark roasting will damage the floral aromas and fruit acidity. Therefore, the roast depth must be adjusted according to the coffee beans' characteristics.

Floral aromas and the intense sweetness of tropical fruits—these are the consistent characteristics of Geisha coffee. With proper roast levels, they provide a sensation akin to sipping the fragrance of a fresh bouquet of flowers.

Dry Aroma: Geisha possesses an uplifting, bright dry aroma with rose and jasmine floral notes, along with pomelo and citrus scents. Light roasting reveals nutty aromas; floral scents (magnolia, tulip), milk tea fragrance, brown sugar sweetness, and even more sophisticated champagne aromas.

Wet Aroma: Similarly has orange-scented wet aroma, with even more floral notes emerging. In terms of mouthfeel, it appears slightly more gentle and reserved compared to the earlier uplifting bright dry aroma, with rich caramel flavors. As it cools slightly, the floral and fruit aromas gradually rise with the temperature drop (sweet dried fruit, rosehip, orange glaze, strawberry jam, apricot, cherry, hints of pine, vanilla, rose notes gradually fade, finally yielding lemon fruit aroma). The cold aroma is exceptionally outstanding. The aftertaste has a sweet trace, especially in light roasts, where such flavors truly test the brightness of this coffee.

Slurping: Rich in the flavor of premium Lishan tea, with excellent oiliness and the astringency of fine white wine. The lower the temperature, the more delicate the acidity, which instantly transforms into a smooth, full body that fills the mouth. Candy sweetness and spice notes complement each other, accompanied by emerging floral aromas. The floral aftertaste, fruit sweetness, and body are remarkably persistent.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473