What's the Difference Between Geisha and Gesha? Understanding La Esmeralda's Red, Green Labels and Geisha Village's Red, Green Labels

Introduction to Geisha Village Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee believes that when Geisha coffee is mentioned, what immediately comes to mind is likely the Geisha coffee from Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda, as the Geisha coffee from La Esmeralda has very distinctive flavors. However, FrontStreet Coffee wants to introduce today not Panamanian Geisha coffee, but rather Geisha Village coffee from the origin of the Geisha coffee variety - Geisha Village in Ethiopia.

Geisha Village is located in the Benshanguel-Gumuz region of Ethiopia, the homeland of coffee. The founders of Geisha Village are Adam Overton and his wife Rachel Samuel. Under the guidance of Willem Boot, owner of the Mule Estate, they discovered wild Geisha in the Gori Gesha forest. After carefully selecting wild Geisha coffee seeds collected from the Gori Gesha forest, they planted them in Geisha Village.

Geisha Village's Coffee Grading System

Like Panamanian Geisha coffee, Geisha Village's Geisha coffee has a very strict coffee grading system. The Geisha coffee from Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda is mainly divided into Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label. However, Geisha Village's coffee grading system is even stricter than that of Hacienda La Esmeralda. For instance, FrontStreet Coffee understands that Geisha Village's Geisha coffee is generally divided into Auction Lots, Gold Label RARITIES, Red Label GROWERS RESERVE, Green Label SINGLE-TERROIR, and Chaka CHAKA batches.

FrontStreet Coffee has recently acquired both the natural processed Green Label from Hacienda La Esmeralda and the Green Label Geisha coffee from Geisha Village within the past month or two. You might wonder which Geisha coffee tastes better - Geisha Village Geisha or Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha coffee? FrontStreet Coffee is just as curious as everyone else about the differences between these two Geisha coffees this year. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee will conduct flavor comparisons of these two Green Label Geisha coffees through both cupping and pour-over brewing methods.

Cupping Geisha Village Green Label

First, FrontStreet Coffee will cup the Green Label Geisha coffee from the Benji plot in Geisha Village. The variety of this Green Label is the Gori Gesha, a Geisha variety planted in Geisha Village, processed using the natural method.

FrontStreet Coffee's typical cupping process is as follows: First, grind the Geisha Village natural Green Label coffee beans into powder. FrontStreet Coffee uses 11.3 grams for cupping, with water temperature approximately 94°C. When grinding, you can smell the fragrance - the dry aroma of the coffee powder. FrontStreet Coffee found that this Green Label Gori Gesha has distinct berry notes in its dry aroma. Then pour in hot water and start timing for four minutes. At this point, experience the wet aroma, which smells like ripe fruits. After exactly four minutes, break the crust by moving the cupping spoon in the same direction for three circles, gently pushing the floating grounds on the surface. FrontStreet Coffee noticed that the wet aroma becomes even stronger. Then use the cupping spoon to remove the grounds, and you can enter the tasting phase.

Although Geisha Village's Green Label Geisha coffee doesn't have the cupping score requirements compared to Red Label and Gold Label, this Green Label Geisha comes from a single plot and single variety batch from Geisha Village Estate. The Green Label batch provides complete traceability information for each batch number, including farm plot name, coffee variety, and processing date. Therefore, the quality of this Green Label flavor is also well-guaranteed. The specific flavor characteristics will be saved for comparison with Hacienda La Esmeralda at the end.

Cupping Hacienda La Esmeralda Green Label

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will cup the Green Label Geisha coffee from Hacienda La Esmeralda. Following the same steps as mentioned before, both the wet and dry aromas of Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee carry very intense floral notes, with the wet aroma being even stronger. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will use the three-stage method to brew these two Green Label coffees. However, before brewing, we need to look at the roast levels of these two Green Label coffees.

Because the Geisha Village Green Label Geisha coffee that FrontStreet Coffee carries is all natural processed. Generally, floating debris and impurities are first removed, then thin layers are spread on African raised beds covered with plastic sheets for natural drying. During drying on African beds, additional screening is performed to select out insect-damaged beans and underripe green coffee beans. The total drying time is 18-30 days. FrontStreet Coffee believes that natural processed coffee has obvious sweetness, gentle acidity, and produces complex fruit flavor profiles, so FrontStreet Coffee ultimately set the roast level of Geisha Village Geisha coffee to medium-light to highlight the characteristic floral notes and fruity sweetness brought by the natural processing.

When roasting Panama Green Label Geisha coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee generally uses light roasting to highlight the Geisha flavors of Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. FrontStreet Coffee is also very careful about brewing parameters when making this coffee, typically using water temperature of 90°C, with 15 grams of coffee for one serving, and a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15. FrontStreet Coffee often uses the segmented brewing method: first use 30g of water for blooming, then use a small water stream to pour in circles to 125g for segmentation. When the water level drops to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until reaching 225g, then stop pouring and remove the filter cone.

Tasting Comparison and Conclusion

Now for the tasting phase, FrontStreet Coffee finds that Hacienda La Esmeralda's Green Label Geisha has very high clarity, smooth mouthfeel, and moderate aftertaste. The natural processing also gives this natural Green Label intense jasmine floral notes, and when cooled, it has somewhat of a honey-like texture. As for Geisha Village's Green Label, it carries some acidity, somewhat like Kenyan berry acidity, with very full and rich mouthfeel, honey-like sweetness in the aftertaste, and also carries some fermented wine-like aromas.

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes that compared to Geisha Village Geisha coffee, Panamanian Geisha coffee is closer to people's impression of Geisha coffee. However, Geisha Village's Geisha coffee quality is also excellent, leaning more toward drupe fruit flavors and higher sweetness, while Panamanian Geisha coffee focuses more on delicate notes like florals and tea-like characteristics. Additionally, Ethiopia's Geisha Village has a higher altitude than Panamanian Geisha growing areas, which is more conducive to the accumulation of coffee compounds.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473