Panama La Esmeralda Estate Single-Origin Coffee: Flavor Characteristics, Growing Region, and Brewing Parameters

Panama Esmeralda Estate Single Origin Coffee Beans: Flavor Characteristics, Growing Region, and Brewing Parameters

Esmeralda Estate Products Commonly Available on the Market:

1. Esmeralda Estate Diamond Mountain Washed (varieties: Typica, Bourbon, Catuai)

2. Esmeralda Estate Geisha, mainly divided into 3 batches:

• High Altitude (Red Label) batch (competition batch): 1600-1800 meters, cupping score over 90 points
• High Altitude (Green Label) batch: 1600-1800 meters
• Medium-High Altitude (Blue Label) batch: 1500 meters

ESMERALDA SPECIAL Award Records:

• 1st Place, Specialty Coffee Association of America Roasters Guild Cupping Pavilion (2007, 2006, 2005)
• 2nd Place, Coffee of The Year (2009, 2008)
• 1st Place, "Best of Panama" (2010, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004)
• 1st Place, Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004)

The name "Geisha" is pronounced the same as the Japanese word for geisha, hence it is also called Geisha coffee. Because the trees grow taller than typical coffee trees, they were originally planted in a small area within the estate and used as windbreaks. It was the estate owner's son who, hoping to enter the annual Best of Panama competition, tested every coffee variety on the farm — giving Geisha its chance to shine. Since then it has competed around the world, collecting eleven championships in total.

Geisha has rich sweetness, an extremely clean mouthfeel, and abundant aromas ranging from berries and citrus to mango, papaya, and peach. A very distinct bergamot-like aftertaste is also a typical cupping signature. To this day, Geisha remains the champion among coffee varieties.

Panama is one of the most important points on the world coffee map: its auction lots regularly fetch prices well over a hundred US dollars per pound.

Panama Geisha (Hacienda La Esmeralda)

Origin: Panama
Region: On the slopes of Baru Volcano, the highest peak in western Panama
Estate: Esmeralda Estate / Hacienda La Esmeralda
Grade: Blue Label
Growing Altitude: 1450m
Processing Method: Fine washed
Special Certification: Rainforest Alliance Certified
Roast Level: Light roast (city-)

What Is the Panama Auction?

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

Esmeralda Estate Geisha has 3 brands, divided by altitude:

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

Pour-over for the Blue Label: 15g of coffee, medium-fine grind (Fuji ghost-tooth grinder at setting 3.5), V60 dripper, 91-93°C water. First pour 30g of water and bloom for 27 seconds, then pour to 105g and pause. Once the water level drops to half, pour slowly up to 225g. Discard the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Panama Geisha (Hacienda La Esmeralda)

Country: Panama
Grade: Blue Label
Region: Slopes of Baru Volcano
Roast Level: Light roast
Processing Method: Washed
Variety: Geisha
Estate: Esmeralda Estate
Flavor: Oolong tea aroma, peach, honey

Panama · Esmeralda Estate Geisha Coffee Beans

The Geisha variety was collected in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia in 1931 and sent to the Kenyan Coffee Research Institute. In 1936 it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania, and in 1953 Costa Rica imported it. Geisha attracted little attention until Don Pachi first brought it from the small town of GESHA in southwestern Ethiopia to Costa Rica. Later, Geisha entered Panama along the southern route, where Esmeralda Estate singled it out from other varieties — and won the national coffee championship.

Flavor Description:

Oolong tea aroma, peach, and honey — refreshing and comfortable, bright yet balanced. The aromatic layers are intense, the whole bouquet wrapped in caramel sweetness. On entry the tongue notices distinct fruit acidity that turns gentle and smooth, with strong fruity sweetness and aftertaste, like a cup of fresh fruit tea that refreshes the heart. As the temperature drops, the acidity grows more delicate. The flavor is persistent and deeply satisfying!

Esmeralda Estate Introduction:

Price Peterson. The Peterson family purchased a coffee garden in the Jaramillo region north of Boquete in 1996, naming it Pequeña Suecia (Little Sweden) in homage to their roots. The garden sits on the eastern side of Volcan Barú, with a cool climate and drifting mountain mist. As Mr. Peterson described it, this newly acquired section of the farm has excellent altitude and climate (1450-1700m), and the roasted beans give off an extremely elegant citrus fragrance. Interestingly, this old garden still holds a variety of coffee trees left by previous owners.

2002 was a turning point for the farm, thanks to Mr. Peterson's younger son, Daniel Peterson. He believed the coffee from the farm's two areas (the original Esmeralda Estate in southwest Boquete and the newly acquired Jaramillo region) had always been harvested, mixed, and sold together — good overall, but not necessarily uniform in quality and flavor. That elegant citrus aroma and sweetness, he reasoned, had to come from certain exceptional trees. He began cupping each block individually, and finally, in the higher-altitude valleys of the Jaramillo garden, found that these tall, low-yielding trees produced coffee with exceptional flavor. After some inquiries, the family learned that this variety, which thrives in high, cool altitudes, was the later-famous GEISHA. In 2004, Esmeralda entered these coffees in the Best of Panama (BOP) competition; Geisha's unique aroma and rich mouthfeel amazed the judges, won the championship, and set a historical record of USD $21 per pound at that year's auction. The victory brought Esmeralda's Geisha enormous attention in specialty coffee, and the estate went on to win BOP championships in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010.

Hacienda La Esmeralda has become the most award-winning coffee estate in the world.

About Hacienda La Esmeralda

The old Esmeralda Estate is located in Palmira, Boquete, built by the Swedish immigrant Hans Elliot. In November 1967 it was purchased by Rudolph A. Peterson as a dairy ranch; in 1973 his son Price Peterson took over. Price Peterson was born in 1936 and grew up in America, earning a Ph.D. in Neurochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1973 he moved to the estate with his wife Susan Duff and their two children, Erik and Rachel; their second son Daniel was born there in 1974. Although the farm was run primarily as a dairy, the old coffee garden always remained. After 1987 it gradually transitioned into a coffee estate, and in 1994 the family built their own processing and washing plant for the harvested cherries. Besides Geisha, the estate grows Typica, Caturra, Catuai, and Bourbon.

Panama

Population: 3,406,000

Panama's coffee regions are defined by how coffee is produced rather than by strict geographical divisions. When coffee was more widely cultivated and the regions below were smaller and more clustered, their beans could be combined as a single unit.

BOQUETE

Boquete is Panama's most famous coffee region. Its mountainous terrain creates many microclimates, and the relatively cool weather and frequent fog slow the maturation of the cherries — an effect some compare to high-altitude climates.

Altitude: 400-1,900m
Harvest: December - March
Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Geisha, San Ramon

VOLCAN-CANDELA

The Piedra Candela volcano region produces much of Panama's food and some remarkable coffees. It takes its name from Baru Volcano and the city of Piedra Candela and borders Costa Rica.

Altitude: 1,200-1,600m
Harvest: December - March
Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Geisha, San Ramon

RENACIMIENTO

Renacimiento is a coffee region in Chiriquí province bordering Costa Rica. It is quite small, so it is not one of Panama's main specialty coffee regions.

Altitude: 1,100-1,500m
Harvest: December - March
Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Geisha, San Ramon

Introduction:

In November 1967, Rudolph A. Peterson (1904-2003), a Swedish-American born in California and former president of Bank of America, purchased Esmeralda Estate from Hans Elliot as his retirement home. It is a historic estate in the small coffee-farming area of Palmira in the Boquete region.

In 1973, Price Peterson took over management. Born in 1936, he grew up and studied in America, earning a Ph.D. in Neurochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1973 moved to the estate with his wife Susan Duff and their two children, Erik and Rachel. Daniel Peterson was born there in 1974. Though run primarily as a dairy, the old coffee garden always remained; after 1987 the farm gradually became a coffee estate, and in 1994 the family built their own processing and washing plant. Besides Geisha, the estate grows Typica, Caturra, Catuai, and Bourbon.

2002 was the turning point, thanks to Daniel Peterson. He believed the coffee from the farm's two areas — the original Esmeralda Estate in southwest Boquete and the Jaramillo region acquired in 1996 — had always been harvested, mixed, and sold together. Quality was good overall but not necessarily uniform; the elegant citrus aroma and sweetness had to come from a specific block. He began cupping each block individually and, in the higher-altitude valleys of Jaramillo, found exceptional cupping flavor. In 2004, Esmeralda entered these coffees in the Best of Panama (BOP) competition. Geisha's unique aroma and rich mouthfeel amazed the judges, won the championship, and set a record of USD $21 per pound at that year's auction. The estate went on to win BOP championships in the years that followed.

After the Petersons took over, they purchased and added 60 hectares of the Jaramillo growing area, some of it formerly dairy land. After several major renovations, many of the blocks later dedicated to coffee began bearing fruit in 2003-2004. In 2002, Daniel Peterson proposed a new idea: not all growing areas would produce similarly good flavors — several specific blocks were more distinctive. He began cupping the whole estate's beans and finally, in a small valley block at the estate's highest altitude, found this special flavor: the beans that command the highest price at Esmeralda, "Esmeralda Special." Beans from other blocks are also very good, but not as stunningly remarkable. "Esmeralda Special" requires many factors to converge to produce small-batch, top-tier coffee — and its quantity is a very small share of the estate's output.

Esmeralda Estate (Hacienda La Esmeralda) Profile

Hacienda La Esmeralda sits in the Baru Volcano range of the Boquete region in western Panama, its cherries growing in fertile volcanic soil and a cool climate.

Panama lies near the equator with a tropical climate, but Boquete's high altitude and the estate's local topography and microclimate create significant temperature swings, with cold mornings and evenings. The carefully tended gardens are half located within forest reserves or national park areas, and the estate is firmly committed to sustainable agriculture and social responsibility. Because of this dedication to the natural environment, all of Esmeralda's coffee is Rainforest Alliance Certified (RFA).

The Geisha variety was first identified at Esmeralda Estate in 2003. Today the estate is managed jointly by the third generation, Rachel and Daniel. Daniel is the one who made Geisha famous worldwide: brother and sister cup every batch of harvested cherries and keep records, analyzing flavor differences between growing areas and lots. One day Daniel noticed that a particular batch had the estate's characteristic floral aroma and a brighter, richer mouthfeel; after individual inspection he discovered the unique flavor came from the Geisha variety — opening the colorful chapter of Geisha and Esmeralda's rise to world-class star estate.

In Taiwan and globally, Geisha has become synonymous with top-flavor specialty coffee. Good Geisha beans have distinct flavor characteristics — exotic floral aromas like jasmine, peach, and orange, with obvious yet delicate fragrance — and are considered among the best coffees in the world.

Today everyone in specialty coffee knows Geisha's fame began at Esmeralda Estate. Because of the variety, the estate has won countless first-place awards, including:

Awards

Since 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda has won a great number of major coffee industry awards and set several online auction price records.

1ST PLACE RECORD

Each year around June is Esmeralda's independent auction time (Geisha varieties only — one of the few estates in the world that allows public online bidding). This year, as usual, overall prices generally increased (http://auction.stoneworks.com/ES2016/final_results.php), with Taiwan successfully bidding on many batches — truly impressive!

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste the legend at its peak, FrontStreet Coffee carries both of Esmeralda's core lines. The Red Label "Esmeralda Special" comes from single plots at 1,600-1,800 meters, each batch cupping above 90 points and individually numbered — the lot that stunned the judges at the 2003 Best of Panama with a record 94.6 average cupping score and went on to collect eleven world championships. The Green Label "Private Collection" blends batches from multiple high-altitude plots to express the estate's signature Geisha character at a more accessible price. Expect elegant jasmine florals with citrus, bergamot, and black-tea-like delicacy, a clean and transparent cup, and a long, sweet finish.

Brew it the way FrontStreet does: 15g of coffee at a medium-fine grind (78% pass-through on a #20 sieve, about fine granulated sugar), a small V60, 91°C water, and a 1:16 ratio in three stages — 30g bloom for 30 seconds, a slow circular pour to 125g, then, once the bed drains to half, continue to 225g, with a total drawdown of about 2:10-2:20. And if you would like an approachable first step into Geisha, the entry-level Panama Boquete Geisha offers the classic orange-honeyed aroma, oolong tea character, and delicate fruit acidity at a friendlier price.