Top 10 Most Expensive Coffees in the World | Panama Geisha Coffee 90+ Emerald Sofía Estate

Customers who come to FrontStreet Coffee always ask what coffee is currently the best-tasting, and FrontStreet Coffee cannot answer this question. Because everyone has their own taste preferences - some people like Mandheling with its herbal and dark chocolate flavors; some people like Mariposa with its distinct sweet aftertaste and light floral notes; and others love Sherry with its rich wine aroma and complex fermentation characteristics. Different strokes for different folks, so it's impossible to answer what coffee is the best-tasting. However, FrontStreet Coffee can tell you which coffee is the most expensive at FrontStreet Coffee. For many specialty coffee enthusiasts, Geisha coffee is certainly the white moon in their hearts, and Geisha coffee ranks at the highest tier.

The World's Most Expensive Coffee

Although Panama is not one of the world's top coffee-producing countries, it possesses the world's most expensive coffee - Panama Geisha. Since the 2004 Best of Panama (BOP), Geisha coffee prices have remained consistently high. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce you to three world-renowned Geisha coffee estates: Hacienda La Esmeralda, Ninety Plus Gesha Estates, and Sophia Estate.

Ninety Plus Gesha Estates

The design inspiration for Ninety Plus Gesha Estates comes from the growth of wild Gesha varieties in their natural habitat in Ethiopia. The Gesha variety and all heirloom coffee varieties originate from the wild forests of Ethiopia. These heirloom coffee varieties have very long lifespans, with some lasting up to 100 years or even longer, and they produce relatively small quantities of coffee. In 2009, Joseph Brodsky, the founder of 90+ Gesha Estates, had the opportunity to acquire this land (approximately 200 hectares) and planted shade-loving Ethiopian Geisha coffee. In 2014, 90+ Estate began large-scale cultivation of Geisha coffee, and since then, 90+ Gesha Estates has won first place in the World Brewers Championship five times within six years.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, 90+ Estate currently has four series: Signature, Innovation, Founder's Selection, Limited Edition, and Ascent. The Signature series contains five varieties: Nekisse, Lycello, Juliette, Perci, Lotus, and one heirloom variety blend. The Innovation series includes five coffees: Ruby, Carmo, Tigre, Yuzo, and Kule. The Founder's Selection series currently has three Geisha batches (#0602, #0526B, #0317), with a starting price of $200 for 10 grams. The Limited Edition series currently contains only one blended Geisha variety coffee, with the official website clearly stating it's merely Geisha-flavored coffee, containing only 1 gram of Geisha in each coffee pack. The Ascent series contains three Geisha coffees: Drima Zede, Kemgin, and Kambera, with starting prices of $19, $21.85, and $24.70 respectively.

It's worth noting that 90+ doesn't refer to coffee scoring above 90 points, but rather to a carefully selected premium coffee series. 90+ collaborates with different estates, from planting, sampling, harvesting to subsequent processing and cupping. Coffee is processed separately according to variety, climate, and maturity to achieve optimal flavor and perfection, then sold under the 90+ name.

90+ sustainable development model and environmentally friendly operations are also learning experiences for many coffee producers. Through coffee forest restoration projects covering over 1,500 hectares in Panama and Ethiopia, the company has established an international brand that promotes ecological and socially-oriented agricultural economic models, improving the quality of life for its coffee cultivation professionals. Simply put, they teach coffee farmers to grow high-quality coffee, and the money earned is used to improve their lives and maintain good coffee forest ecosystems. Today, 90+ Coffee Estate is highly sought after by coffee enthusiasts worldwide and is hailed as the Louis Vuitton of the coffee world.

Hacienda La Esmeralda

The Geisha coffee regularly featured on FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu comes from Hacienda La Esmeralda. Although it has been introduced many times in previous articles, let's revisit it to deepen everyone's impression.

Regarding the history of Hacienda La Esmeralda, in 1967, a Swedish-American banker named Rudolph A. Peterson (1904-2003) purchased Hacienda La Esmeralda as a retirement enterprise. At that time, the land was primarily used for grazing beef cattle, with small amounts of coffee cultivation. In 1997, the Peterson family purchased another piece of land that would later become Jaramillo Farm, at higher altitudes specifically for coffee cultivation, hoping to develop higher-scoring, more vibrant, and more delicate coffee.

It is said that initially, Geisha coffee was only used as a windbreak, but an accident led the Peterson family to discover this coffee variety. In 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda won the Panama Best Green Bean Competition with its astonishing Geisha coffee flavor, setting a record for the highest price ever. Since then, more and more people have begun to pay attention to the Geisha coffee bean variety. In that year's competition, the Peterson couple made some unprecedented experimental divisions in Geisha coffee grading: during processing, they separated production from different farm areas into individual batches.

Esmeralda Special (Red Label Geisha)

This selection uses Geisha coffee beans grown at altitudes of 1600-1800 meters, with cupping scores above 90 points, produced from the Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes regions. Additionally, they must participate in Hacienda La Esmeralda's independent auction, where Geisha batches selected from designated plots for auction become auctioned Red Label. However, there are now non-auction Red Labels on the market, which are actually Geisha beans selected from the same plots but not put up for auction, then circulated on the market. The variety quality is consistent, only showing differences in selling price.

Private Reserve (Green Label Geisha)

The difference from Red Label Geisha is that it's not an independent competition batch, but still a high-quality Geisha variety. Green Label Geisha uses micro-batch blends from different plots like Jaramillo, Cañas Verdes, grown at altitudes of 1600-1800 meters. Due to the blending approach without detailed plot specifications, Green Label Geisha sometimes has very similar flavor profiles to Red Label Geisha. Although Green Label Geisha is not as high-grade as Red Label, it still carries classic Geisha flavors such as the characteristic floral, fruity, citrus acidity, and thick, juicy mouthfeel of Geisha coffee.

Additional Knowledge About Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha

Let me share some additional knowledge about Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha coffee: according to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Geisha coffee has a peculiar characteristic - the more extreme and harsh the growing environment, the better its flavor expression. This also means Geisha coffee is particularly difficult to harvest and has very low yields. Therefore, not every estate can grow delicious Geisha coffee; sufficient conditions and equipment are necessary to produce flavorful Geisha coffee, which is why Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee beans stand out.

Geisha 1500 (Blue Label Geisha)

In 2021, Hacienda La Esmeralda discontinued the Blue Label Geisha grade for unknown reasons, but let's still share some knowledge about Blue Label Geisha. Blue Label Geisha uses blends from three different areas: Jaramillo, Cañas Verdes, and El Velo, grown at altitudes of 1400-1500 meters. Compared to Green and Red Labels, the mouthfeel is less thick, but it still maintains classic Geisha flavors. FrontStreet Coffee purchased Blue Label green beans from the 2020 harvest season.

Sophia Estate

In addition to the two estates mentioned above, FrontStreet Coffee wants to introduce you to a relatively newer coffee estate today. This estate grows almost exclusively Geisha coffee, and its altitude of 2100 meters has become the estate's exclusive advantage. This estate is Sophia Estate.

Sophia Estate was established in 2008, located in the highlands of Panama near Nueva Suiza. It also boasts magnificent views of Cerro Punta and Volcan Barú, as well as dense tropical forests. Sophia Estate is an experimental estate aimed at testing the limits of Panama coffee cultivation. It was selected as a Good Food Awards winner in 2016, the following year won first place in the washed category of the Best of Panama competition, and in 2020 achieved another excellent result with second place in the natural category. If everyone is interested, we might do a separate detailed introduction about Geisha coffee estates in the future.

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