Panama Esmeralda Estate Red Label Geisha Coffee Bean Auction Story and Flavor Profile Differences Between Red, Green, and Blue Labels

The Fascinating World of Geisha Coffee: Exploring Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda

When it comes to Geisha coffee, FrontStreet Coffee believes that coffee enthusiasts are no strangers to Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. It is both the discoverer and promoter of Geisha coffee. At Hacienda La Esmeralda, the quality of Geisha coffee is strictly classified, such as the Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label Geisha, each with distinct characteristics. FrontStreet Coffee's article will now explain the special characteristics of Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha coffee.

Hacienda La Esmeralda: Panama's Coffee Treasure

Panama is located in Central America. As is well known, the Panama Canal was built by the United States and was controlled independently by the U.S. for a period after its completion. It was precisely the construction of the Panama Canal that led many American elites to move south in the late 20th century—partly for work demands and partly to explore business opportunities. Hacienda La Esmeralda is a witness to that era.

In 1964, American banker Rudolph Peterson retired and moved to Panama, purchasing Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, initially focusing on dairy farming. Later, his son Price resigned from his medical position to help his father manage the farm. In 1987, they introduced Caturra and Catuai coffee bean varieties, and in 1994, established a washed processing plant, giving them their own coffee processing facility. In 1996, they acquired the nearby Jaramillo farm, which had a superior geographical environment and excellent original coffee varieties, and incorporated it into Hacienda La Esmeralda.

Jaramillo farm caught the attention of the Peterson father and son precisely because of its original coffee beans, which carried pleasant orange and floral-fruit aromas, different from the traditional taste of Panamanian coffee. After cupping coffee beans from different areas of the farm, they discovered that an unknown coffee tree growing at the highest point of the farm was responsible. Due to its low yield, the previous owner had used it only as a windbreak tree. However, the Petersons discovered it and decided to separately cultivate and propagate the coffee trees from this area. This is now what coffee enthusiasts know as Geisha coffee.

This coffee bean made a stunning debut when it won the 2004 Panama Best of Panama (BOP) competition. After expert evaluation, it was discovered that this coffee bean was the Geisha variety from Ethiopia. Subsequently, the Peterson family focused most of their energy on developing infrastructure to support outstanding batch separation and refined processing methods—this is what FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above: the Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label classifications.

Plot Division at Hacienda La Esmeralda

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Hacienda La Esmeralda is located in the Boquete region of Panama, which is an important coffee-producing area in Panama. Many well-known coffee estates come from this region, such as Elida Estate and Kotawa Estate. Since discovering the treasure of Geisha coffee, Hacienda La Esmeralda has extremely fine-grained plot divisions for Geisha, mainly consisting of three estates: Jaramillo, Canas Verdes, and El Velo. Each estate is further subdivided into smaller plots.

High-quality Geisha is mainly produced in the Jaramillo and Canas Verdes plots.

Jaramillo

With an annual rainfall of 4000ml, average daytime temperatures of 19-25°C, nighttime temperatures of 11-15°C, and average altitude of 1600-1700m. The Jaramillo plot is divided into 5 small plots: Mario, Noria, Reina, Bosque, and Buenos Aires.

Canas Verdes

With an annual rainfall of 3500ml, average daytime temperatures of 16-23°C, nighttime temperatures of 10-15°C, and average altitude of 1600-1800m. It includes 9 small plots: Lino, Coronado, Fundador, León, Montaña, Trapiche, Chinta, Cabaña, and Tumaco.

El Velo

El Velo is the most recently acquired estate by Hacienda La Esmeralda, with an average altitude of 1700-1900m. Besides growing Geisha and Catuai, this plot also has small amounts of other exotic varieties such as Laurina, Pacamara, Mocha, and SL28. El Velo is divided into 7 small plots: Guabo, Portón, Durazno, Mural, Higo, Buena Vista, and Guila.

Classification Standards: Red, Green, and Blue Labels

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Hacienda La Esmeralda strictly classifies the coffee beans produced within the estate, making its marketing strategy different from other estates. It divides into five major brands based on cupping performance, cultivation variety, and growing plot. For the Geisha variety, there are three brands: Esmeralda Special (Red Label), Private Collection (Green Label), and Geisha 1500 (Blue Label). For the Catuai variety, there are two brands: Diamond Mountain and Palmira.

Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha

Esmeralda Special's Geisha is what we commonly call the Red Label. It selects Geisha beans grown at altitudes of 1600-1800 meters, with cupping scores above 90 points, produced from the Jaramillo and Canas Verdes regions.

Additionally, only Geisha batches from Hacienda La Esmeralda's own independent auction that participate in bidding are considered auction Red Labels. However, there are also non-auction Red Labels on the market today—these are actually Geisha beans selected from the same plots that didn't participate in auctions but are circulated in the market. The variety and quality are consistent, only showing differences in pricing. This grade of Geisha uses natural or washed processing methods, with flavors featuring special, bright floral aromas and citrus notes.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama · Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Country: Panama

Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda)

Altitude: 1700 m

Variety: Geisha

Processing: Natural Processing

Flavor: Citrus, Complex Fruits, Rose Tea, Honey

Hacienda La Esmeralda Green Label Geisha

Private Collection, commonly known as Green Label, consists of non-independent competition batches. It selects Geisha varieties grown at altitudes of 1600-1800 meters from different plots such as Jaramillo and Canas Verdes, using micro-batch mixing. Since it uses a mixed bean model without detailed plot specification, sometimes the flavor similarity between Green Label and Red Label can be very high, but the next batch might show differences.

Although the Green Label doesn't reach the Red Label's grade level, it still carries the classic Geisha flavors—floral, fruity, citrus acidity, and thick, juicy mouthfeel. Green Label Geisha is available in both washed and natural processing. Because its altitude is the same as Red Label, just mixed harvest, FrontStreet Coffee's view is that it's a more cost-effective grade from Esmeralda. The batch we acquired uses washed processing.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Green Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Country: Panama

Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda)

Altitude: 1700 m

Variety: Geisha

Processing: Natural Processing

Flavor: Jasmine, Citrus, Honeydew, Berries

Hacienda La Esmeralda Blue Label Geisha

The Geisha 1500 brand is what we commonly know as Blue Label Geisha. It selects mixed beans from altitudes of 1400-1500 meters from three different plots: Jaramillo, Canas Verdes, and El Velo. The flavors feature subtle floral notes, fruit acidity, and sweetness, with a less rich mouthfeel. Currently, Blue Label Geisha is available in both washed and natural processing, with natural processed Geisha coffee beans being introduced in small batches at the end of 2019.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Washed Blue Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Country: Panama

Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda)

Altitude: 1400-1500 meters

Variety: Geisha

Processing: Washed Processing

Flavor: Lemon, Oolong Tea, Brown Sugar, Peach

Thus, the biggest difference between these three labels is altitude. FrontStreet Coffee's previous articles have mentioned that coffee beans grown at higher altitudes have better flavors, so the quality of Red and Green Labels is better than Blue Label. However, the difference between Green Label and Red Label Geisha is that Green Label beans are mixed harvest, while Red Label beans are clearly specified by plot and participate in auctions, resulting in significant price differences. However, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the flavor difference between Red Label and Green Label Geisha is not obvious, making Green Label much more cost-effective. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests that coffee enthusiasts who love Geisha coffee but have limited budgets might want to try Green Label Geisha.

FrontStreet Coffee has learned that Geisha coffee has a peculiar characteristic: its flavor performance is better when grown in extremely harsh environments. This means Geisha coffee is particularly difficult to harvest and has very low yields. Not every estate can produce delicious Geisha coffee—it requires sufficient conditions and equipment to produce Geisha coffee with excellent flavor. This is also why Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee beans stand out.

Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha Coffee Bean Processing Methods

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, the three Geisha grades at Hacienda La Esmeralda all use the most common washed and natural processing methods. The difference between them is that washed processed coffee beans show cleaner and brighter flavor performance, expressing the original flavors of the growing region, while natural processing adds fermentation and aroma to the washed flavor base, making the flavors sweeter and more fragrant.

Washed Processing Method

1. First, coffee farmers pour all harvested coffee fruits into water. This way, defective coffee beans will float to the surface, while quality coffee fruits sink to the bottom. This operation greatly reduces the time wasted on individual selection.
2. The selected coffee fruits are put into a pulping machine to remove the outer skin and pulp. After removing these, the surface of the coffee fruit still has a layer of mucilage attached, so large amounts of clean water are needed to wash away the sticky substances from the coffee fruit surface.

3. Next, fermentation is used to completely remove the mucilage. This process takes about 18 hours. However, after fermentation is complete, fermentation bacteria adhere to the coffee fruit surface, so another wash with large amounts of clean water is needed. For this step, producing 1 kilogram of coffee beans requires 40 to 50 kilograms of clean water. FrontStreet Coffee considers this a very large number, which is why drought-affected countries cannot adopt washed processing.

4. The cleaned coffee beans can then be dried. Some regions will directly take them outdoors to dry, while more developed producing areas will send them to processing plants to use machines for drying, reducing the coffee moisture content to about 11%.
5. Finally, the dried coffee beans are stored and packaged for sale and export.

Natural Processing Method

1. The first step is to harvest mature coffee fruits, then manually select them, picking out defective, overripe, or insect-damaged coffee fruits, leaving only good beans. This is also why coffee beans at FrontStreet Coffee shops generally have relatively uniform and attractive appearance.

2. The manually selected good fruits are sent to drying places for drying. Different coffee-producing regions use different drying racks—some use waterproof tarps, raised beds, or concrete floors. The drying time averages 27-30 days until the coffee moisture content drops to 11% to complete the drying process.
3. This step is also crucial. After drying is complete, the coffee fruits are sent to specialized processing plants for hulling and even polishing, removing the pulp and other parts to get the coffee beans as we commonly know them.
4. The hulled raw coffee beans undergo another selection to remove coffee beans with poor appearance. This is because over-dried coffee beans are more fragile and may break into fragments during hulling, while under-dried coffee beans have too much moisture, and active moisture can cause coffee beans to easily breed bacteria and develop mold. Therefore, after another selection, they are sent to warehouses for storage, packaging, and export.

The above is the relevant information about Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha compiled by FrontStreet Coffee. Before launching any coffee bean, FrontStreet Coffee conducts extensive cupping and brewing tests to find the optimal brewing parameters to serve coffee enthusiasts. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share the brewing parameters for these three Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha varieties.

FrontStreet Coffee Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Coffee Bean Brewing Recommendations:

Filter: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Dose: 15 grams

Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Medium-fine

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Technique: Multi-stage Extraction

Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour with small circular motion to 125g for stage separation. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup. (Timer starts from bloom) Extraction time: 2'00".

Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha Flavor Descriptions

[Red Label] Bright rose and citrus aromas, brown rice, berries, apricot, complex fruits, honey, with thick juice sensation, rich flavor layers, and distinct sweetness.

[Green Label] Intense jasmine flower aroma upon entry, high sweetness, citrus, berries, juice sensation, cream, green tea, orange peel, cantaloupe, overall rich flavor layers with persistent floral and citrus aftertaste.

[Blue Label] Gentle lemon and grapefruit acidity upon entry, with oolong tea, honey, and brown sugar sweet notes as it cools slightly, with cleaner and brighter mouthfeel.

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