Costa Rica's Most Renowned Tarrazu Dota Region: Home to Micro-batch Geisha Varietals

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What's the Difference Between Geisha and Gesha?

They are the same thing, with the pronunciation derived from the Japanese word "Geisha."

What Variety Does Gesha Belong To?

La Esmeralda in Panama typically divides its Gesha into three grade batches—Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label. Some of the Red Label batches are competition batches from La Esmeralda, while others are batches sold directly by La Esmeralda, including natural and washed processes that appear in auctions.

At La Esmeralda, quality control is first reflected in the careful guidance given to farmers picking the fresh cherries. They also pay pickers higher fees, requiring them to pick only fully mature, bright red coffee cherries.

During the preparation stage, the picked coffee cherries undergo careful inspection to check for any rotten beans or unripe cherries. Significant time is spent handling details and studying how to present a good mouthfeel, all of which makes La Esmeralda stand out, easily distinguishable from other coffee producers worldwide.

Our latest Gesha is the Esmeralda Special from La Esmeralda Estate, also known as competition Gesha, competition batch (Special-Geisha): representing the premium selection batches from La Esmeralda, all grown at altitudes above 1550 meters (even exceeding 1900 meters), with cupping scores above 90 points.

La Esmeralda is an extremely experimental estate. Through comparing 400 coffee varieties and conducting sample processing and cupping annually, they select varieties with excellent cupping performance (this is how they discovered Gesha). These innovative experimental processing method batches cannot be found even in auctions.

Esmeralda Red Label Has Three Major Characteristics:

1. Strong traceability: Each batch can be traced back to the picking date, specific plot, plot tree age, etc.

2. Altitude: All batches are at altitudes above 1600 meters, with some above 1900 meters

3. Cupping score: Must achieve 90 points or above (SCAA standard) to be called Red Label

In 1931, a group of botanists conducted an expedition in southern Ethiopia, discovering the Gesha variety near the Gesha village, with quite tall tree forms and seeds larger than typical Ethiopian beans. They brought the seeds to Kenya, growing them in nurseries. After five years of growth, they selected fruits from the healthiest samples and brought them to Uganda and Tanzania. In 1953, the Costa Rican research institution CATIE obtained some seeds from Tanzania for research purposes.

The first to bring Gesha from Costa Rica to Panama was actually Pachi Serracin, the former owner of Don Pachi Estate, in 1963. However, Gesha was initially unpopular in Panama due to its low yield and poor economic benefits, often mixed with other coffee varieties for sale. Many estates could find some Gesha trees, some even used as windbreaks in coffee plantations. Until after 2000, the Petersons of La Esmeralda discovered Gesha's extremely charming flavor, so special that they were unsure if consumers would accept it.

In 2003's Best of Panama, La Esmeralda won first place that year with Gesha, with strong, complex flavors that amazed all judges. In the following decade, Gesha was unstoppable in all green bean competitions, with coffee farmers from various Central and South American countries eagerly following suit, starting to plant Gesha in Costa Rica, Bolivia, Colombia, and others. Although there was still a gap in flavor compared to Panama, Gesha had become the golden bean among coffee beans that no one wanted to miss.

Some also hoped to trace back to Gesha's origins, organizing multiple expeditions deep into the primary forests of southwestern Ethiopia, but finally, it was generally recognized that Panama still seemed to be the world's best Gesha-producing region. Different processing methods also brought different flavors to Gesha, from the initial washed processing to later natural, honey processing, becoming increasingly detailed and complex.

So what's the difference between Gesha Village and typical Ethiopian estates? What do OMA, SURMA in batch numbers refer to? What do the series of numbers like 51, 72, 59 mean? And what's the difference between Gesha1931 and Gori Gesha?

Estate Background

Adam Overton and Samuel Rachel began planting Ethiopian Gesha on nearly 500 hectares in Gesha Village in 2011, with their sole goal being to produce the world's best coffee. Starting in 2008, after three years of searching, they finally found a suitable environmental system for coffee growth in tropical rainforests at 1900-2100 meters altitude, with suitable climate, fertile forest soil, and historic woodlands.

Gesha Village Coffee Estate covers a total area of 471 hectares. By 2015, Gesha Village Coffee Estate had completed 300 hectares of coffee planting, continuing to add 50 hectares in 2016. The Gesha selection came from the native coffee forest Gori Gesha, 20 kilometers from the estate, which is also the source of the Panama Gesha variety. Under the guidance and assistance of the "Godfather of Gesha" Willem Boot, Gesha Village's coffee has achieved excellent results in world competitions.

Extremely Strong Traceability and High-Quality Control

Unlike most Ethiopian coffees that need to be exported through ECX (Ethiopia Commodity Exchange) or cooperatives, Gesha Village Coffee Estate, with its scale of nearly 500 hectares, can operate as a single estate with independent processing and export. Therefore, it possesses traceability that other Ethiopian green beans cannot match.

Each batch of green beans can be traced back to specific plots, varieties, tree ages, picking dates, natural (washed) processing duration, and other aspects, effectively ensuring transparency and quality control possibilities at every stage.

What's the Difference Between Gori Gesha and Gesha1931?

Gori Gesha and Gesha 1931 both refer to planted variety names.

Gesha Village grows three varieties: Gori Gesha, Gesha 1931, and Illubabor Forest. The first two are both Gesha varieties, while Illubabor Forest is a disease-resistant variety provided by the Ethiopian research institute.

Gori Gesha is the Gesha variety from the wild coffee forest Gori Gesha near the estate, encompassing the genetic diversity of Gesha, thus named after the forest.

Gesha 1931 was selected from multiple Gesha varieties in the Gori Gesha forest as the variety closest to Panama Gesha. The variety selection depended on coffee plant morphology, bean appearance, and cupping results. It was named Gesha 1931 because 1931 was also the year when people discovered the Gesha variety in Ethiopia.

What Do OMA, SURMA Represent?

The estate divides the nearly 500-hectare estate into plots based on different varieties and microclimates (as shown in the figure below):

Therefore, the variety distribution is as follows:

Planting Gori Gesha: Shewa-Jibabu; Shaya, Bangi

Planting Gesha 1931: Surma; Oma; Narsha

Planting Illubabor Forest: Dimma; Gaylee

What Do the Numbers in Batch Names Mean?

Now let's specifically discuss the traceability of Gesha Village.

Gesha Village 2016-2017 partial batch picking date data (image: Gesha Village competition materials)

Take the natural batch from OMA plot, used by Japanese champion Takayuki Ishiya for competition, as an example (see above image). This plot plants the Gesha 1931 variety, and internally the plot is divided into 5 natural batches: 51, 72, 77, 86, 90. The closer the areas, the more similar their maturity and picking periods. Additionally, OMA#27 is a washed batch from this plot (limited space, not shown in the above image). Takayuki Ishiya's competition bean is OMA#51 competition batch, and Grand Cru Coffee ordered one batch from the same batch as OMA#72.

After multiple cuppings and screenings, Grand Cru Coffee selected three distinct natural batches, purchasing them separately. The first batch, Surma#85 and Shewa-Jibabu#59, has been sold out; the second replenishment batch of Shewa-Jibabu#59 same batch and Oma#72 same batch is available in stock.

Specific Cupping Flavors:

1. Shewa-Jibabu#59 same batch (Gori Gesha)

This batch has prominent sweetness, with obvious strawberry, honey peach, papaya flavors, and delicate floral aromas, with a cream-like thick mouthfeel;

2. Oma#72 same batch (Gesha 1931)

This batch has candied fruit flavors; strong floral aromas, high complexity;

Both above Gesha batches use natural processing. First, floating impurities are removed, then they are covered with film and plastic sheets on African-style raised beds for natural drying, with a total drying time of 18-30 days.

FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Gesha Village Natural Gesha

(Gesha Village Coffee Estate Gesha Natural)

Variety: Gesha (Gori Gesha)

Processing Method: Natural

Season: 2017 New Season

Flavor Description: Strawberry, honey peach, papaya, floral notes, cream-like, thick

FrontStreet Coffee · Panama La Esmeralda 2017 Season Red Label Geisha Competition Washed Processing

Panama Geisha Hacienda La Esmeralda

Country: Panama

Grade: Red Label

Region: Boquete

Roast Level: Light Roast

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Gesha

Estate: La Esmeralda

Flavor: Lychee, peach, sweet potato

FrontStreet Coffee · Costa Rica Diosa Geisha

The Dota region, located within Costa Rica's most famous Tarrazu area, is specifically known for producing micro-lot Geisha varieties! In 1865, the Dota region already enjoyed a reputation for fine Costa Rican coffee. Because highway construction from the capital extended through the Tarrazu district to reach the Dota valley, Costa Rica's coffee authority习惯ly marks production areas as Dota Tarrazu. This region is a typical highland terrain, with soil, temperature, and humidity that are superior choices for coffee growing conditions.

Diosa Estate was established in the 1960s. Diosa Estate grows coffee using organic methods, utilizing local native trees and fruit trees as coffee shade. The fertilizer used is also a mixture of coffee cherry pulp with molasses, added to high-mineral soil from nearby mountains and fermented with microorganisms to create organic fertilizer that enhances coffee plants' disease resistance. They also习惯ly use California earthworms to cultivate soil, directly providing it as the main nutrient source for coffee trees during fertilization periods while mixing and planting multiple coffee varieties. They一律 acquire and select fully ripe red-purple berries and broadly control the soaking fermentation process, developing a very unique constant-temperature processing method. The fermentation degree—neither too much nor too little—achieves an excellent balance between coffee clarity and complexity, making its flavor performance more stable, bringing out Geisha's special flavors strand by strand, truly intoxicating.

Dota E1 Diosa Geisha

Origin: Costa Rica

Region: Tarrazu

Variety: Geisha

Altitude: 1800 meters

Soil: Volcanic soil

Grade: SHB

Processing Method: Washed

Harvest: Hand-picked

Flavor:

[Dry Aroma] Tea fragrance, orange, plum fruit, cranberry, floral notes, vanilla, almond

[Wet Aroma] Floral notes, chocolate, vanilla, bright malic acid, cranberry

Flavor Characteristics: Lemon and citrus series aroma, gentle grapefruit fruit acidity and fruity sugar sweetness, medium body, clean and smooth mouthfeel

Taobao link: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.5-c.w4002-15673140460.41.23e7a496Br02sy&id=541755048209

Important Notice :

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