What's the Difference Between Geisha and Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans? Flavor Profile and Taste Characteristics of Geisha Pour-Over Coffee

Customers often ask FrontStreet Coffee for recommendations of coffees with prominent floral aromas.

FrontStreet Coffee's baristas typically recommend Geisha first, because of its intense floral aroma, full fruit acidity, and enticing sweet aftertaste. Even hours after drinking, the fragrance remains on the palate, and even FrontStreet Coffee's baristas are deeply captivated by it.

However, some customers hesitate and ultimately return to the coffee that introduced many enthusiasts to specialty coffee: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe. This isn't necessarily bad, as Geisha and Yirgacheffe each have their own characteristics.

FrontStreet Coffee's baristas generally suggest that newcomers to specialty coffee shouldn't rush to try Geisha, because Geisha's flavor profile is indeed too prominent and enticing. Trying Geisha before experiencing other regional coffees would be extremely unfair to coffee beans from other regions.

Ethiopia

As is well known, Ethiopia is the birthplace of Arabica coffee. Just counting the coffee varieties discovered in the forests of Ethiopia's southern Kafa region, there are more than 5,000 varieties. Coupled with the local government's protection of these species, most Ethiopian coffee is sold as "local native varieties."

FrontStreet Coffee understands that many customers who love Ethiopian-grown beans are fond of their uplifting and clean acidity. However, it's important to know that as an agricultural product, coffee's flavor is determined not only by seven parts genetics but also three parts environment.

Ethiopian coffee growing regions are mainly divided into nine: Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, Limu, Harar, Jimma, Illubabor, Gimbi and Lekempti, Tepi and Bebeka, and Lake Tana.

Since this article needs to discuss the differences between Geisha and Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Coffee will now focus only on Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe region.

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe is a small town in the Sidamo province, formerly a sub-region of the Sidamo area. However, because coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe region have a unique flavor, Ethiopian farmers take pride in labeling their coffee beans as "Yirgacheffe flavor." Later, it was separated as its own region. The so-called Yirgacheffe coffee flavor refers to intense white floral aromas, lemon fragrance, peach and almond sweet notes, and tea aromatics. FrontStreet Coffee would describe it as "a hundred flowers blooming."

In terms of post-harvest processing for green coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe's oldest traditional processing method is the natural process. However, in 1972, Ethiopia introduced Central and South American washing techniques to improve coffee quality, making FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe's jasmine and citrus aromas clearer and brighter. FrontStreet Coffee believes the most fundamental difference between washed and natural processing is that the washed method presents the coffee's most basic flavors, directly reflecting the special characteristics of the region, while the natural method adds sweet aromatics and fermentation notes on top of these basic flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee's Red Cherry coffee comes from the naturally processed beans of the Yirgacheffe region.

FrontStreet Coffee: Frontsteet Yirgacheffe · Red Cherry Coffee Beans
Region: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
Altitude: 1700m～2200m
Variety: Local Native Varieties
Processing Method: Natural Process

Panama

When discussing Geisha coffee, Panama must be mentioned. Although the Geisha coffee variety was discovered in Ethiopia's Geisha Forest, the Geisha from Ethiopia's Geisha village and Panama's Geisha are completely different coffee varieties.

After Geisha coffee beans were sent to the Kenyan Coffee Research Institute, they were introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936, Costa Rica in 1953, and Panama in 1970. After more than thirty years of careful cultivation in Panama, Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda (also known as Panama Geisha Hacienda La Esmeralda) separated it from other varieties in 2003, and it became the BOP competition champion in 2004. The Geisha coffee variety thus became famous overnight.

Panama's La Esmeralda is both the discoverer and promoter of the Geisha coffee variety.

Panama La Esmeralda Farm Division

La Esmeralda is located in Panama's Boquete region, which is an important coffee-growing area in Panama. Many well-known coffee estates come from this region, such as Elida Estate and Kotowa Estate. La Esmeralda's division of Geisha plots is extremely refined, with mainly three plots: Jaramillo, Cañas Verdes, and El Velo. Each plot is further divided into smaller sub-plots.

High-quality Geisha mainly comes from the Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes plots.

Panama La Esmeralda Geisha Grading System

Customers who have visited FrontStreet Coffee's store can see from the small blackboard at our bar that under the Panama section, La Esmeralda is divided into Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label.

FrontStreet Coffee Red Label Geisha - Esmeralda Special
Esmeralda Special, commonly known as Red Label, represents La Esmeralda's premium Geisha outside of auction lots. This grade of Geisha is grown at altitudes above 1,600 meters and has cupping scores no lower than 91 points. Each micro-lot has detailed traceability information, including plot, altitude, latitude and longitude, tree age, harvest time, processing method, etc.

For example, FrontStreet Coffee's latest Red Label batch was selected from the Cañas Verdes plot, with fruit harvested on February 13th of this year. After 25 days of slow natural drying, it brought rich aromas similar to jasmine, cranberry, passion fruit, citrus, and cinnamon.

FrontStreet Coffee Green Label Geisha - Private Collection
Private Collection, commonly known as Green Label, was once a non-auction but excellent quality Geisha batch. Green Label is harvested from a blend of Geisha from different plots within the two main estates at altitudes of 1,600-1,800 meters. With its classic orange-honey notes, it became the preferred choice for many "budget-conscious" Geisha enthusiasts. Starting in 2022, La Esmeralda began indicating which sub-estate this grade of Geisha came from. According to information disclosed on La Esmeralda's official website, Green Label Geisha from different plots shows unique main flavor profiles due to terroir differences.

Blue Label - FrontStreet Coffee Geisha 1500
This brand consists of Geisha coffee grown in the 1,400-1,500 meter altitude range, harvested from a blend of different plots across La Esmeralda's three sub-estates. Geisha from this area is sold for export as Volcanic Rock Geisha coffee beans, with the same flavor profile as the original Blue Label. FrontStreet Coffee's previously acquired Geisha 1500 showed light floral aromas and fruit sweetness in cupping, with a less full mouthfeel than the other two brands. However, in 2021, La Esmeralda discontinued the Blue Label to maintain brand image, which means the Blue Label is now discontinued!!!

How to Brew Floral Coffee Beans Well?

After discussing so much about Geisha's various grades, it's time to talk about how to brew Geisha well. Here, FrontStreet Coffee has selected FrontStreet Coffee's La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha and FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Yirgacheffe · Red Cherry from our store. Preparation before brewing is crucial. Since these are high-quality coffee beans, to experience the complete aroma of the coffee, FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing freshly roasted coffee beans. Since all coffee has a period when its flavor is at its best, typically 7-30 days after roasting, only brewing during this time will not waste these fine coffees. The coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are roasted within 5 days, ensuring that the coffee beans customers receive after ordering are the freshest, perfectly timed for the optimal tasting period.

Ethiopian and Panamanian Geisha growing environments are high-altitude, and the coffee beans are quite hard. FrontStreet Coffee's roasters generally use medium-light roasting for beans with floral and fruity characteristics to preserve more quality acidity. Light roasting doesn't significantly change the internal structure of coffee beans, so FrontStreet Coffee's baristas use higher water temperatures and finer grinding to extract Geisha's aromatic qualities.

Brewing Parameters:
Dripper: V60
Water Temperature: 91-92°C
Dose: 15g
Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar size (80% passing through #20 sieve)

Three-stage extraction: First stage: Use 30g of water for bloom for 30 seconds, pour in a circular motion to form a dome. Second stage: Pour 95g of hot water, and when the coffee bed drops to halfway, start the third stage with 100g until all coffee has finished dripping. Note to start pouring from the center point, using small water flow and gentle circular motion throughout to avoid uneven extraction.

Pour-over Coffee Flavor Comparison

FrontStreet Coffee Red Cherry: Smells of ginger flower aroma. Upon entry, the sweet and sour sensation slowly spreads across the palate, with an overall floral mouthfeel and a sweet, juicy aftertaste. As temperature decreases, acidity increases while sweetness remains relatively persistent.

FrontStreet Coffee Red Label Geisha: Tastes of citrus, berries, honey, and grapes. As temperature decreases, the honey sweetness becomes particularly prominent, accompanied by ginger flower aroma.

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Important Notice :

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