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What Variety is Panama Geisha Coffee Bean? Are Panama Geisha Coffee Beans Expensive?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange for more coffee bean information please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account cafe_style) For a long time, Panama coffee beans were underestimated and even ignored, until in recent years the annual international cupping competition Best of Panama and Panama Emerald...

Introduction to Arabica Coffee Varieties

Today, approximately 70% of coffee beans worldwide are Arabica varieties, meaning the vast majority of coffee beans we buy on the market are Arabica. Arabica varieties often appear as specialty coffee and taste better than Robusta. Within Arabica beans, there can be many sub-varieties, mostly derived from Ethiopia's ancient Typica and Yemen's Bourbon being transplanted to Central and South America or Asia, with countless varieties that cannot all be listed individually.

What is Geisha?

Geisha is a coffee variety with the English name "Geisha/Gesha." In Japanese vocabulary, "Geisha" happens to be called "Geisha" as well. To avoid confusion with the Japanese "Geisha," people recommend calling Geisha "Gesha." However, when people talk about "Geisha/Gesha" today, it generally refers to the famous Panamanian Geisha coffee.

The Difference Between Geisha and Geisha Coffee

Geisha coffee beans are the best Panamanian coffee beans and also among the most expensive coffee beans in the world. Speaking of Geisha coffee, what are the Geisha coffee producing regions? Its main origins include: Panama, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala, etc. Panamanian Geisha coffee beans belong to the Geisha variety, originating from a forest called Gori Gesha in the Gesha Mountain area of southwestern Ethiopia. This means "Geisha" is not only a variety name but also a place name. And precisely because its origin comes from Ethiopia's Gesha village, it is called "Geisha." Ethiopian Geisha coffee is divided into three branches: Gori Gesha (GG), Illubabor Forest 1974 (IF), and Gesha 1931 (G31). However, the Geisha coffee beans currently grown in Ethiopia's Gesha village have little genetic relationship with the Panamanian Geisha coffee beans we know. However, the first two Geisha coffee bean branches are completely different genetically from Panamanian Geisha coffee.

Although Geisha coffee became famous through La Esmeralda estate, Geisha coffee from other estates is also excellent. In addition to Panamanian Geisha coffee, FrontStreet Coffee has also sourced Geisha from Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ethiopia's local varieties. To let more coffee friends taste the flavor of Geisha coffee, FrontStreet Coffee has even made Panamanian Boquete Geisha coffee one of its daily stock beans.

Panama La Esmeralda Estate

Speaking of Geisha coffee, we must mention the Geisha coffee from Panama's La Esmeralda estate. La Esmeralda is both the discoverer of Geisha flavor and the promoter of Geisha coffee. La Esmeralda has carefully planned the planting plots for Geisha coffee beans and divided Geisha into three batches based on planting altitude.

Red Label [Competition Batch]

The often-heard Red Label is Geisha specially selected by La Esmeralda. Selected from Geisha beans grown at 1600-1800 meters altitude, with cupping scores above 90 points, produced from the Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes regions. It has characteristics of jasmine, fruit, and bergamot. Red Label Geisha is further divided into competition Geisha and non-competition Geisha.

Green Label [Reserve Batch]

Private Reserve is what we often hear as Green Label - not an independent competition batch, but micro-batch mixed Geisha varieties from different plots that don't participate in bidding but still have excellent quality. Selected from Geisha beans grown at 1600-1800 meters altitude, produced from different plots including Jaramillo, Cañas Verdes, and other areas.

Some people ask FrontStreet Coffee: What's the difference between Green Label and Red Label? FrontStreet Coffee believes: Although the grade of Green Label Geisha coffee beans is not as high as Red Label Geisha coffee beans, it has high cleanliness, overall tends toward jasmine tea flavor, with high acidity. The natural-processed Green Label Geisha has good sweetness, pleasant sweet and sour notes, reminding people of passion fruit and floral tea. Green Label batches also have both washed and natural processing options.

Blue Label [Select Batch]

Blue Label is grown at 1400-1500 meters altitude, mixing Geisha coffee beans from three different plots: Jaramillo, Cañas Verdes, and El Velo.

However, starting from 2021, La Esmeralda estate has adjusted its Geisha coffee grading. Beginning with the 2021 production season, La Esmeralda estate has officially canceled the Blue Label batch (Geisha 1500).

The Price of Geisha

Geisha was introduced to Panama in 1960, but initially, not many people paid attention to Geisha. After enduring for nearly half a century, Panama La Esmeralda estate separated it from other varieties in 2003, made a splash in the BOP competition, and finally became the BOP champion in 2004, officially bringing the Geisha variety into everyone's view. In the following years, Geisha swept the first prizes in the Panama National Treasure Bean Cupping Competition in 2005, 2006, and 2007. It was the emergence of "Best of Panama" and Panama La Esmeralda estate that completely changed the underestimation of Panamanian coffee beans. This cupping competition attracted global attention not only because of the coffee's appeal but also because of the astonishing astronomical prices. Some Geisha coffees from small farms, with their unique floral aromas, have attracted the attention of coffee enthusiasts worldwide. Panamanian coffee beans have strong floral aromas and clean fruit flavors, with cupping quality far exceeding other coffees, impressive flavors, and consistently stable quality.

Small farms in the Boquete region of Chiriquí province do indeed produce distinctive coffee cherries, but harvesting Geisha coffee cherries is an extremely challenging task that requires meticulous attention from pickers. To obtain high-quality Geisha coffee, selecting the most mature coffee cherries is very important, which means pickers need certain experience to achieve this. Every qualified Geisha coffee cherry is manually and carefully selected by pickers when fully mature. Immature Geisha coffee cherries have not yet developed specific flavors and therefore cannot be picked; unqualified coffee cherries are discarded. Geisha coffee cherries take several years to fully mature, which is why extra care is needed during picking. During each harvest season, farms hire local N'gbe Indians, and in accordance with Central American labor laws, employ them at the most reasonable salary standards.

Four Main Reasons Why Panamanian Geisha Coffee Beans Are Expensive

It has been selected as the best coffee by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). SCA is an international coffee enthusiast organization that covers different fields of the specialty coffee industry: growers/farmers, producers, roasters, manufacturers, importers/exporters, and retailers.

It is quite rare. Panama has only a few Geisha producers. Because the growing conditions in Panama cannot be found outside Panama, Panamanian Geisha coffee cannot be replicated in other regions or countries. Additionally, with the threats of climate change and rust disease, Geisha's survival has become even more difficult.

Demand is increasing while supply is decreasing. Especially in Asian regions (such as China), demand for Geisha coffee has increased particularly sharply, which has also driven its continuous price increase.

The auction method also effectively increases coffee prices. Due to limited supply, only the highest bidder gets it.

Panamanian Geisha Coffee Bean Recommendations

Mentioning earlier that the price of Panamanian Geisha coffee beans is rising now, does that worry you? So how much does a cup of Geisha coffee cost? FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Panama La Esmeralda Green Label Geisha coffee has full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, it offers extremely high value for money, with each 100-gram package costing only 168 yuan. Calculated at 15 grams of coffee beans per cup, one package can make 6 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 28 yuan, which is a conscientious recommendation compared to cafe prices that often exceed 100 yuan per cup. The washed Boquete Geisha coffee from Panama's Boquete region costs 98 yuan/100 grams and is one of FrontStreet Coffee's daily stock beans, also representing Panamanian Geisha coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha Coffee Roasting Recommendations:

Geisha coffee is famous worldwide for its rich floral aromas and complex fruit notes. FrontStreet Coffee's roasters hope to retain more of Geisha's quality acidity, so they choose light to medium roast (with slight adjustments for different batches). This roast level doesn't significantly change the high hardness of beans from high altitudes, therefore extraction needs to be increased to present fuller flavor layers. This requires higher water temperature and finer grind size to stimulate more aromatic substances.

FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha Coffee Brewing Parameters:

FrontStreet Coffee's daily production mostly uses V60 drippers because the 60-degree angle design and spiral rib design allow everyone to fully extract the essence of Geisha coffee by controlling water flow and pouring times, while the large water outlet design prevents over-extraction. The V60 dripper has flow ribs connecting the top and bottom and a large central hole, which speeds up water flow, while the spiral-shaped exhaust groove design extends the water flow path, increasing contact time between coffee grounds and hot water. Each water flow converges along the grooves to the dripper's center point, concentrating pressure on the coffee grounds, resulting in richer extracted coffee layers.

Dripper: V60, Water temperature: 91-92°C, Coffee amount: 15g, Water ratio: 1:15, Grind size: Fine sugar size (sieve 20 to 80%).

Flavor Characteristics of Different Geisha Coffees:

La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha Coffee Flavor: Bright rose and citrus aromas, brown rice, berries, apricots, complex fruits, honey, with thick juice texture, rich flavor layers, and obvious sweetness.

La Esmeralda Green Label Geisha Coffee Flavor: Rich jasmine floral aroma in the entrance, high sweetness, citrus, berries, juice texture, cream, green tea, orange peel, cantaloupe, overall rich flavor layers, with persistent floral and citrus aftertaste.

Panama Washed Boquete Geisha Coffee Flavor: Clear citrus, lemon, and bergamot acidity, with creamy smooth texture when swallowed, finishing with green tea and honey sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee's Coffee Brewing Recommendations:

Regarding coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans greatly affects coffee flavor. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee ships all coffee beans within 5 days of roasting. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when it arrives. The coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it's at its peak flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee gently reminds: if coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need for a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide in the package can also help coffee flavors become mellow, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly because it oxidizes relatively quickly when exposed to air, meaning coffee flavors will dissipate more quickly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends buying whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better taste the coffee's flavor.