How to Brew Geisha Coffee Beans, One of the World's Most Expensive Coffees - What's the Price of a Cup of Geisha Coffee

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Geisha Coffee Beans

One of the world's most expensive coffee varieties.

When discussing Geisha beans, one must mention Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. Besides the world-renowned Geisha variety, Hacienda La Esmeralda has also repeatedly created astonishing transaction records.

Daniel Peterson was the first coffee farmer to discover the unique flavor of the Geisha variety through cupping, while the first to notice the amazing flavor of Geisha in formal coffee competitions was Rick Rhinehart, current CEO of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA).

Hacienda La Esmeralda first won the championship with its Geisha variety at the 2004 Best of Panama competition, where the head judge was Rick. That same year, cupping Geisha occurred at the 2004 Best of Panama winning estates cupping hosted by Esmeralda Special. The enchanting floral aroma, citrus, berry, and Darjeeling tea fragrance of Geisha sparked heated discussions, with some enthusiasts mistakenly believing it came from Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia.

The Discovery of Geisha

The Geisha variety was discovered in 1931 from the Geisha Forest in Ethiopia, then sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya. In 1936, it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania. Costa Rica introduced it in 1953, and in Panama during the 1970s, Mr. Francisco Serracin from the Tumba Quinta farm received seeds from CATIE in Costa Rica and began growing Geisha coffee.

Actually, Daniel was continuously cupping different harvest batches at that time, noting the flavor of each batch, when he discovered that one particular batch had a unique flavor. The only way to find the difference was to compare batch by batch.

After identifying the batch, he then traced back to find the harvest date and area of that batch in the estate, conducted a comprehensive review of the batch data, and finally determined the exact harvest location of the batch and traced the precise location. After confirming the location, he began observing the appearance, leaves, and fruits of the coffee trees one by one, which led to the discovery of Geisha.

Contrary to external rumors, simply put, it required several times more effort and persistence than others for this legendary variety to emerge.

Hacienda La Esmeralda's Astonishing Auction Records

These mainly come from her unbreakable championship records. Award-winning competition beans certainly see price increases, with champion prices reaching dozens of times the market value, but Hacienda La Esmeralda's winning record is unprecedented. As of 2013, it had won fifteen different coffee competition championships, especially the natural Geisha batch that won the 2013 Best of Panama Natural category championship, which was auctioned at $350.25 per pound! At that time, the price of non-auction specialty coffee beans in Panama in 2013 was about $6 per pound, making its price more than 58 times that of other specialty coffees!

Geisha Variety

Geisha green coffee beans possess a beautiful blue-green color with a jade-like warm texture. They smell of fresh grass, peaches, berries, and the unique milky sweetness of oolong tea that most coffee beans lack. It seems aroma and flavor require imaginative association, but the light tea aroma is something we can clearly perceive.

To highlight the characteristics and aroma of this bean, the roast level should approach the second crack. Approaching the second crack and the first pop of the second crack are commonly used roast levels, as they best bring out the bean's inherent characteristics. Too light a roast will produce off-flavors, while too dark will damage the floral aroma and fruit acidity. Of course, this should also be adjusted according to the coffee bean's characteristics and the roaster's understanding of the bean itself.

Flavor Profile

Floral, tropical fruits, intense sweetness; with proper roasting, they bring you a feeling as if you're sipping the fragrance of a fresh flower bouquet. It was originally an ancient heirloom variety from Ethiopia, brought into Costa Rica's coffee experimental garden as a coffee sample and distributed to several small farms for small-scale trial planting.

For a long time, not many people paid attention to Geisha, until one day when Panama's Esmeralda estate separated it from other varieties and won the national coffee championship.

The fruit flavors and floral elements are remarkably similar to Yirgacheffe from Ethiopia on the other side of the world in Africa. Of course, some small farms now have the Geisha variety and are eager to grow their own Geisha.

However, the results vary. Affected by weather, soil, and altitude, this "star" variety seems to taste quite different when planted in various geographical locations. But in the Boquete region, we see typical Geisha characteristics: elongated bean shape, changes during roasting, and the elegant, clean flavor in the cup.

Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha is classified by altitude as:

Auction Geisha (ESMERALDA SPECIAL) (Red Label), specially selected from altitudes above 1550 meters.

Boquete Geisha (Green Label), Geisha specially selected from 1500 meters.

(ESMERALDA 1,500) (Blue Label) specially selected Geisha varieties from around 1500 meters altitude.

Red Label Geisha participates in global auction bidding every May, while Green Label does not participate in auctions but is equally high-quality, slightly cheaper in price. Buyers of Red Label get priority purchasing rights for Green Label.

Hacienda La Esmeralda's Four Major Brands

I. [Esmeralda Special] Independent auction held by Hacienda La Esmeralda itself, exclusively featuring Geisha varieties, auctioned by production zone names, with each zone further subdivided into small batches for bidding. Only Geisha batches that the estate puts forward for independent auction can use the Esmeralda Special name.

II. [Geisha-Boquete] Geisha variety, but not independent competition batches, a brand mixed from non-auctioning but still excellent quality batches from various production zones, though still Geisha variety.

III. [Diamond Mountain] Hacienda Esmeralda's traditional varieties, grown in the Canas Verdes and Horamú zones at approximately 1400-1700 meters. The coffee flavor is complex, with prominent chocolate, vanilla, and sweet citrus. Cultivated varieties are standard Central American mixes, including Typica, Bourbon, and Catuai.

IV. [Palmira] Production area in the outskirts of Boquete town, altitude approximately 1000-1250 meters. Only this area grows low-altitude coffee, almost entirely Catuai variety. Though not specialty-grade, the acidity isn't too sharp, with prominent nutty sweetness and chocolate flavors.

Different Brewing Methods for Geisha Coffee Beans

Different brewing methods will also yield different tastes.

Pour Over

Flavor: Multi-layered, clean, balanced, persistent caramel sweetness in the aftertaste.

1. Equipment choice: Hario V60

2. Water temperature: 91-92°C

3. Grind size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

4. Roast level: Light to medium roast

5. Bloom time: 35 seconds

Specific technique: Three-pulse pour-over for Geisha. 15g coffee, Fuji Royal "ghost tooth" grinder setting 3.5, V60 dripper, 91-92°C water temperature. First pour 30g water, bloom for 35s. Pour to 104g and stop pouring. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then pour again. Slowly pour until reaching 220g, avoiding the last 5g. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time about 2:00.

Siphon

Flavor: Round, rich, prominent floral and fruit aromas, with outstanding fruit sweetness.

1. Equipment choice: Hario siphon pot

2. Water temperature: 90°C

3. Grind size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3

4. Roast level: Light to medium roast

5. Brew time: 50 seconds

Specific technique: Side-heating extraction. Recommend 20g coffee for 2 servings, water-to-coffee ratio 1:12, water level marking 2. Use delayed addition technique - add coffee after bubbling starts, stir 4-5 times, extract for about 50 seconds then remove from heat. Finally, stir 2 times and let the coffee liquid flow down naturally.

Cake Cup (Kalita Wave)

Weigh 15g of coffee beans, grind to medium coarseness - the particles should be slightly coarser than table salt. We use Fuji Royal "ghost tooth" grinder at setting 4, water temperature 91°C.

Pour hot water from the gooseneck kettle in clockwise circles centered on the middle of the filter. Start timing when brewing begins. Within 15 seconds, brew the coffee to 30g, then stop pouring. When the time reaches 1 minute, pour the second time. For the second pour, like the first, pour in clockwise circles centered on the middle of the filter, avoiding the area where coffee meets the filter paper to prevent channeling.

Leave one circle of coffee grounds at the outermost edge, then brew circle by circle toward the center. By 2 minutes 20 seconds, the coffee should reach 220g, completing the brewing process.

Geisha Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha coffee beans offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they provide exceptional value-for-money. One 100-gram package costs only 350 yuan. Calculating at 15g per cup, one package can make 6 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 60 yuan. Compared to café prices that often exceed 100 yuan per cup, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

Important Notice :

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Tel:020 38364473