Which Tastes Better: Geisha Coffee or Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee - Flavor and Taste Characteristics of Blue Mountain Geisha Coffee Beans

2020 was arguably the most innovative year for Jamaica's Blue Mountain Clifton Estate. Traditionally, Blue Mountain coffee regions exclusively cultivated Typica varieties using washed processing methods, making Blue Mountain coffee renowned for its cleanliness, balance, and rich body. In 2019, Clifton Estate began small-scale production of natural-processed Blue Mountain coffee beans. After receiving excellent reviews, they started large-scale production in 2020, and FrontStreet Coffee acquired this batch of beans.

The 2020 Innovation: Blue Mountain Geisha

The biggest innovation for Clifton Estate in 2020 was their cultivation of Geisha coffee beans! These beans arrived in China in late November. FrontStreet Coffee obtained a barrel of Blue Mountain Geisha immediately upon arrival. Like traditional Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee, exported coffee is packaged in wooden barrels, and this batch had limited production. The barrels feature the Rainforest Alliance certification logo (currently, Clifton is the only coffee farm in Jamaica's Blue Mountain region with this certification).

About Clifton Mount Estate

All Blue Mountain coffee currently offered by FrontStreet Coffee comes from Clifton Estate. The estate began coffee cultivation and production as early as the mid-18th century (around 1750). The coffee cultivation and processing areas are situated at an average altitude of 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters). Sufficient altitude, gentle afternoon clouds and mist surrounding the mountain forests, abundant sunshine, and mineral-rich soil provide excellent growing conditions for coffee trees while extending the maturation period of coffee cherries.

Clifton Estate is also the only estate in the Blue Mountain growing region with Rainforest Alliance certification. Rainforest certification refers to traditional farming methods that cultivate coffee under native forest shade, benefiting ecosystem protection. Part of the alliance's revenue is also used for wildlife protection in tropical rainforest conservation areas and improving workers' living conditions.

Why Innovation After Decades of Tradition?

Some time ago, news emerged that Jamaica was experimenting with Bourbon varieties. When FrontStreet Coffee's team heard this news, they discussed Jamaica's motivations. In the past, people's impressions of coffee were defined by rich, Mandheling-like coffee flavors and the exceptionally balanced and full-bodied Blue Mountain. Traditional Blue Mountain coffee was like the king of all birds in that era.

However, in recent years with the development of the specialty coffee market, this coffee era dominated by light roasting first brought the explosively fruity Yirgacheffe coffee, followed by the world-renowned Panama Geisha coffee. This sparked a global wave of appreciation for coffee's pleasant acidity. Consequently, Blue Mountain coffee, this steadfast coffee "elder," was shaken. Perhaps fearing being forgotten by the times, it gradually began innovating. The newly added natural-processed Blue Mountain and Blue Mountain Geisha this year are excellent proof.

Geisha Coffee Variety

Geisha coffee beans are elongated in shape, and their flavor is refreshingly pleasant. From these two perspectives, Geisha indeed doesn't resemble Central and South American coffee varieties but rather Ethiopian coffee varieties. So when was Geisha introduced to Panama? It was discovered in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia in 1931.

Afterward, Geisha was sent to coffee research institutes in Kenya. In 1936, it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania, then to Costa Rica in 1953, and finally to Panama around 1960. Although Geisha has strong disease resistance, its yield was low, so after people used it for variety improvement, it disappeared from view until it was rediscovered in the windbreaks of Hacienda La Esmeralda in 2004. Through competitions, Geisha coffee beans entered people's consciousness. This batch of 2020 Blue Mountain Geisha from Clifton Estate was most likely introduced and planted from Panama's growing region four years ago.

Geisha coffee beans must be grown at high altitudes to develop rich, captivating floral aromas. For example, Geisha grown at Hacienda La Esmeralda averages over 1,500m altitude, while Blue Mountain coffee regions only reach 1,310m. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee found that the floral notes of Blue Mountain Geisha are not prominent, with only subtle jasmine aromas detectable upon careful tasting.

Blue Mountain Geisha Processing Method

This batch of Blue Mountain Geisha acquired by FrontStreet Coffee still uses Jamaica's specialty washed processing. During processing, the skin and pulp are first removed, followed by 12-18 hours of fermentation. The fermented beans are then placed in pools and moved back and forth, using the friction between beans and the power of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until smooth and clean.

After washing, the coffee beans are still encased in parchment, with a moisture content of 50%. They must be sun-dried to reduce moisture content to 12-14%; otherwise, they will continue fermenting and become moldy and spoiled. Afterward, the coffee beans are sorted and then stored in dedicated warehouses.

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Geisha Roasting

For this batch of Blue Mountain Geisha, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster faced a dilemma: should they highlight Blue Mountain characteristics or Geisha characteristics? If they emphasized Blue Mountain flavor, what would be the point of using Geisha variety? If they highlighted Geisha flavor, would it still deserve the Blue Mountain name? However, to emphasize Geisha coffee's characteristics, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster ultimately chose medium-light roasting to highlight floral and fruity aromas.

Start with a drum temperature of 180°C, heat at 130, damper at 3; Return temperature at 1'32", when drum temperature reaches 97°C, maintain heat; At 3 minutes, adjust damper to 4, at 4 minutes increase heat to 140. When drum temperature reaches 153.5°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering dehydration phase. At 8'36", bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack begins at 9'31", develop for 1'28" after first crack, drop beans at 192°C.

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Geisha Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping within 8-24 hours of roasting sample coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's baristas typically use 200ml ceramic cupping bowls. Cupping water temperature is 94°C. Grind size is controlled to achieve 70%-75% pass-through through a No. 20 standard sieve (0.85mm). Ratio: 11 grams of coffee grounds to 200ml of hot water, i.e., 1:18.18, which extracts a concentration conveniently within the 1.15%-1.35% Golden Cup range, with a 4-minute steeping time.

Cupping Notes:

Dry Aroma: Caramel

Wet Aroma: Floral

Flavor: Citrus, berries, grapefruit, caramel, honey

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Geisha Brewing Experience

Dose: 15g

Grind Size: Medium-fine (78% pass-through through No. 20 standard sieve)

Ratio: 1:15

Water Temperature: 91°C

Dripper: V60#01

FrontStreet Coffee's segmented brewing method: 1. First pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. 2. After the bloom, pour the second segment of water, pouring 100g in a circular motion from center outward. This pour should be slow, as Geisha coffee is very extraction-resistant and requires sufficient pouring time to extract its aromas. Wait for the water level to drop to half. 3. When the coffee bed is about to be exposed, pour the third segment of 95g water, totaling 225g. Wait for the coffee to finish filtering, then remove the dripper. Total brewing time is 1 minute 50 seconds.

Brewing Flavor: Entry shows citrus acidity, grapefruit's sweet-tart balance, middle notes of jasmine flowers, finish with honey and caramel sweetness.

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Important Notice :

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Tel:020 38364473