Geisha vs Yirgacheffe: The Distinctive Characteristics of Premium Yirgacheffe Coffee

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Customers often ask why Geisha coffee is so expensive. With similar citrus and berry notes, what makes it different from Yirgacheffe, known as the "starter bean for beginners"? In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will comprehensively introduce the differences between the two from every angle: growing regions, historical stories, coffee bean varieties, flavor profiles, roasting methods, and brewing techniques. Interested friends, follow FrontStreet Coffee as we explore together!

The Difference Between FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha Coffee Beans and FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans

Geisha coffee refers to a coffee variety called "Geisha/Gesha" in English. Because it happens to share the same name as "Geisha" in Japanese, some people call this variety Geisha. We Chinese people, based on the name "Geisha," translated it phonetically as "瑰夏" (Guìxià), which truly captures the essence of faithful, expressive, and elegant translation.

Variety is also an important factor affecting the overall flavor of coffee, just as there are differences between green apples and Red Delicious apples among apples. The high-altitude Geisha coffee variety tends to have distinct floral aromas and refined, elegant fruit acidity, far surpassing other coffee bean varieties. FrontStreet Coffee believes that such elegant flavor is one of the reasons it has become popular worldwide.

The Discovery of Geisha

The Geisha coffee variety was discovered in 1931 from the Geisha forest in Ethiopia and then sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya. In 1936, it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania. In 1953, Costa Rica introduced it, and Panama began growing Geisha coffee in the 1970s when Mr. Francisco Serracin from the Tumba七 farm obtained seeds from CATIE in Costa Rica.

In fact, Daniel conducted continuous cupping sessions based on different harvest batches, noting the flavor profile of each batch, only to discover that one particular batch had a unique flavor. The only way to find the difference was to compare batch by batch. After identifying the batch, he then traced back the harvest date and harvest area of that batch in the estate, comprehensively reviewed the batch data again, and finally determined the exact harvest location and traced the specific position. After confirming the location, he began to observe the appearance, leaves, and fruits of the coffee trees one by one, which led to the discovery of Geisha. It was not as simple as outsiders might think—in other words, it required several times more effort and persistence than others for this legendary variety to emerge.

Emerald Manor's Astonishing Auction Records

This mainly comes from her unshakable championship records. The price of award-winning competition beans will inevitably rise sharply, with championship prices reaching dozens of times the market value. However, Emerald Manor's award-winning record is unprecedented. As of 2013, it had won fifteen championships in different coffee competitions. Especially notable was the natural Geisha batch that won the 2013 Best of Panama natural process category, which was sold at $350.25 per pound! At that time, the price of non-auction premium coffee beans in Panama in 2013 was about $6 per pound, making its price more than 58 times that of other premium coffees!

Geisha Variety

Taking Emerald Manor's Red Label as an example, this batch has highly recognizable washed Geisha characteristics. The dry aroma carries subtle floral notes, while the wet aroma after brewing reveals distinct fruit and floral aromas. When tasted, it shows clear citrus acidity, medium tea-like body, making it feel like drinking a cup of jasmine tea.

Panama Emerald Manor FrontStreet Coffee Geisha Red Label Coffee

Region: Panama, Boquete Region
Estate: Emerald Manor, Velo地块
Altitude: 1600-1800 meters
Variety: Geisha
Processing Method: Natural Process

FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha green beans have a beautiful blue-green color with a jade-like warm texture. They smell of fresh grass, peach, berries, and the unique milk-sweet aroma of oolong tea that most coffee beans lack. It seems that aroma and flavor require associative thinking, but the light tea notes are something we can clearly perceive.

To highlight the characteristics and aroma of this bean, it's roasted to the verge of second crack. The verge of second crack and first crack of second crack are commonly used roast levels, as they best bring out the bean's inherent characteristics. Too light and off-flavors appear; too deep and the floral aromas and fruit acidity are lost. Of course, this must also be adjusted according to the coffee bean's characteristics and the roaster's understanding of the bean itself.

FrontStreet Coffee Geisha Flavor Profile:

Floral, tropical fruits, intense sweetness; with proper roasting, they give you the feeling of sipping the fragrance of a fresh bouquet of flowers. It originated as an ancient native variety from Ethiopia, brought to Costa Rica's coffee experimental garden as a coffee sample and distributed to several small farms for small-scale trial planting.

For a long time, not many people paid attention to Geisha until one day, Panama's Esmeralda (Emerald) Manor separated it from other varieties and it won the national coffee championship. The fruit flavors and floral elements were remarkably similar to Yirgacheffe from Ethiopia on the other side of the globe in Africa. Of course, now some small farms have also obtained Geisha seeds and are eager to try growing their own Geisha.

What Grade is Geisha Coffee?

As everyone knows, Geisha from Panama's Emerald Manor (Panama Geisha Hacienda La Esmeralda) is the new king of specialty coffee, commonly known as "Red Label Geisha." The quality is relatively high, and naturally the price is not cheap. Red Label Geisha is harvested from areas above 1550 meters altitude, and Red Label Geisha participates in global auction bidding every May.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

Enter the drum at 150°C, heat at 120, damper at 3; return to temperature at 1'36", when drum temperature reaches 140°C, open damper to 4, heat unchanged; when drum temperature reaches 147.6°C, bean surface turns yellow, grass smell completely disappears, entering dehydration phase. When drum temperature reaches 150°C, adjust heat to 100, damper unchanged.

At 7'38", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast smell clearly transitions to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'10", first crack begins, open damper to 4. After first crack, develop for 1'28", discharge at 189.5°C.

Today we cupped a batch of FrontStreet Coffee Red Label Geisha, and the aftertaste was very sweet.

Cupping results: Lychee, particularly clear peach juice texture, fragrant orange, black tea, fruit juice, honey, persistent sweetness. Initially gentle and rounded in the mouth, with strong fruit sweetness and aftertaste, like swallowing a mouthful of fresh fruit tea, clear and refreshing. The lower the temperature, the more delicate the acidity. The charm is also quite lasting, making people feel very satisfied!

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

Recommended brewing method: Pour-over
Filter: V60
Water temperature: 88-90°C
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Grind size: Fine grind (80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve), equivalent to medium-fine grind

Brewing technique:分段式萃取 (Segmented extraction). Use 32g of water for 30-second bloom. When pouring with small water flow to 125g, segment the pour. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 228g and stop. Wait for the water level to drop and is about to expose the coffee bed, then remove the filter cup. (Timing starts from bloom) Extraction time: 1'52".

Yirgacheffe Growing Region Introduction

Ethiopia's FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe is a renowned specialty coffee growing region, with coffee featuring elegant floral and fruit aromas, bright and lively acidity. As the homeland of coffee, Ethiopia's thousand-year history of cultivation and processing traditions has produced high-quality washed Arabica beans. Light roasts have unique lemon, floral, and honey-like sweet aromas, with soft fruit acidity and citrus flavors, presenting a fresh and bright mouthfeel. Natural processed Yirgacheffe has rich tropical fruit flavors, with a sweet and full mouthfeel, rounded and gentle acidity, and persistent sweetness.

Yirgacheffe FrontStreet Coffee Natural Red Cherry Coffee

Region: Yirgacheffe
Altitude: 1900-2300m
Variety: Heirloom
Processing: Natural
Grade: G1

About the Red Cherry Project - OPERATION CHERRY RED

Speaking of the Red Cherry Project, many friends are not unfamiliar with this name. But what exactly is the Red Cherry Project? Probably only a few people can explain it clearly. To help Ethiopian coffee farmers obtain better income and improve local living standards, in 2007, a Dutch trader named Trabocca initiated the "OPERATION CHERRY RED PROJECT" with local farmers. The project was purely to incentivize farmers to improve coffee bean quality. At the beginning of the harvest season in the producing areas, Trabocca would designate microclimate zones for harvesting plans, manually harvesting 100% ripe red coffee cherries, with production of about 1500-3000 kg.

In 2008, the Red Cherry Project invested $5,000 to purchase new natural drying racks. In 2009, it invested another $8,000 for new natural drying racks and shade nets. In 2010, it invested $9,000 in a generator, and in 2011 continued to invest $10,000 to improve some local coffee transport roads, making coffee transportation more convenient and efficient. Trabocca provides interest-free loans to purchase new coffee cherry depulpers and coffee bean sorters. To facilitate supplier procurement, it invested $14,000 in 2012 to build a high-quality Addis Ababa coffee cupping laboratory.

Trabocca provides financial loan support, new hardware equipment, and production processing knowledge and technology to help farmers improve production levels. They promise to purchase at generous prices as long as the actual output quality meets cupping standards in both the Ethiopian Addis Ababa and Amsterdam cupping rooms.

The standard set by Trabocca is 88 points. After processing at the origin, Red Cherry Project coffee beans are immediately packaged in separate plastic inner bags (GrainPro bags) or vacuum boxes, then shipped to Djibouti to await sea transport. Through real-time monitoring, safe transportation, and timely proper processing methods, they strive for perfect quality. Roasters can also purchase high-quality coffee beans through this Red Cherry Project, which also improves Ethiopian coffee quality for better prices. Trabocca can then return profits to farmers, continuously improving and enhancing quality.

Processing Method

This natural processed FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe coffee has slightly larger beans, with slightly lower density and moisture content. Every coffee from this processing plant can be considered high-quality specialty processed coffee, with characteristics that surpass other coffees regardless of processing method. The coffee beans here can be considered the best coffee in the Yirgacheffe region.

After the processing plant selects available coffee cherries, the entire fruit pulp and skin are kept intact and the coffee cherries are placed on raised beds for natural processing. It is precisely this high-intensity labor method of raised bed drying that isolates them from ground contact, prevents earthy off-flavors during natural processing, and creates exceptionally clean fruit flavors. After more than two weeks of natural drying, the dark brown coffee fruits are professionally stored, waiting for full flavor development. Before shipment, the processing plant removes the coffee beans from the coffee cherries, and the sweetness is imaginable.

Green Bean Analysis

About Yirgacheffe Grading

According to different green bean processing methods, Yirgacheffe can be divided into two main categories:

Natural processed green beans are graded as: Gr-1; Gr-3; Gr-4; Gr-5. Similarly, the highest grade G1 natural Yirgacheffe has rich fruit aroma. Opening a bag of freshly roasted G1 natural Yirgacheffe coffee can subvert people's original understanding of coffee. Only those who have tasted the highest grade natural Yirgacheffe will believe that coffee is a fruit.

Exported in ordinary jute bags printed with Trabocca

Yirgacheffe coffee varieties are local heirloom varieties, small-bean types, with relatively round appearance and very small beans, mostly between 14-15 screen size. Yirgacheffe Cherry Red Grade 1 green beans have a yellow-green color, typical of natural coffee, with uniform and full beans and few defective beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

Such a splendidly flavored bean is naturally not suitable for medium-dark roasting, so this Yirgacheffe coffee bean is intended to use light slow roasting to best express its rounded and sweet characteristics with rich floral and fruit aromas. This coffee's beans are relatively small, with moisture content, and absorb more heat during the roasting process. The Maillard reaction process is also faster. In the first roast, I used a higher drop temperature, using 160 heat before the coffee beans dehydrated and turned yellow, to ensure sufficient heat to continue to second crack, directly developing to second crack. In the second, third, and fourth roasts, I used the same 200 entry temperature and same heat, gradually reducing the heat during the roasting process as needed.

Yangjia 600g semi-direct flame roasting machine

Using quick stir-fry mode, enter drum at 200°C, damper at 3.5. After 1 minute, adjust heat to 160°C, damper unchanged. At 148°C, adjust heat once to 130°C. Roast to 5'03'', temperature 151°C, bean surface turns yellow, grass smell completely disappears, dehydration complete. Adjust heat to 105°C, damper to 4. At 8 minutes, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, toast smell clearly transitions to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'07'', first crack begins, reduce heat to 70°C, damper fully open (adjust heat very carefully, not so low that cracking stops). Discharge at 194°C. Yirgacheffe's dry aroma emits strong fruit fragrance, with heavy dried fruit notes, strawberry, mango, and apricot jam aromas. The wet aroma is like sweet syrup, like thick apricot pulp juice, wrapped in rustic honey or chocolate. The entry is not strong, with medium body, acidity not obvious but lively and bright, like fruit black tea.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Analysis

As for brewing methods, pour-over and siphon are best choices. When grinding, you can smell the overwhelming natural fruit aroma, with obvious sweetness. Gentle and elegant, sweet and charming. Yirgacheffe emits extremely complex aromas, displaying exceptionally remarkable mouthfeel that is difficult to describe.

Filter: V60 filter
Coffee grounds: 15g
Water temperature: 91°C
Grind size: Fine grind (78% pass-through rate on #20 standard sieve)
Water-to-coffee ratio: 1:15

Segmented extraction: Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom. When pouring with small water flow to 125g, segment the pour. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. Wait for the water level to drop and is about to expose the coffee bed, then remove the filter cup. (Timing starts from bloom) Extraction time: 1'50".

The wet aroma of fermented berry fruit wine makes it hard to believe this is Yirgacheffe, but personally I don't particularly like this wet aroma. However, from the extremely smooth entry to the delicate body, the emergence of ripe fruit sweetness is truly astonishing, with a sweetness that exceeds any Yirgacheffe I've tasted before. The aftertaste performance is also quite excellent, worthy of its "fruit bomb" reputation. After drinking, you can basically guarantee that you'll still feel sweetness in your mouth for half an hour.

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