How to Brew Geisha Coffee Beans, One of the World's Most Expensive Coffees, and How Much Does a Cup Cost

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Geisha Coffee Beans

One of the most expensive coffee varieties in the world.

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

Daniel was the first coffee farmer to discover the unique flavor of the Geisha variety through cupping. The first person to notice the remarkable flavor of Geisha in an official coffee competition was Rick Rhinehart, the current CEO of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA).

Hacienda La Esmeralda first won the championship in the 2004 Best of Panama competition with their Geisha variety. The competition's head judge was Rick. That same year, Geisha was cupped at the 2004 Best of Panama winning estates cupping hosted by Café Artigiano. Geisha's captivating floral aroma, citrus, berry notes, and Darjeeling tea fragrance sparked enthusiastic 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 and then sent to Kenya's Coffee Research Institute. In 1936, it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania. Costa Rica introduced it in 1953, and in the 1970s, Panama's Finca Tumbaigua, through Mr. Francisco Serracin, obtained seeds from CATIE in Costa Rica and began growing Geisha coffee.

In fact, Daniel continuously cupped different harvest batches, noting the flavor of each batch, and 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 traced back to find the harvest date and area of that batch in the estate, comprehensively reviewed all batch data, and ultimately determined the exact harvest location. After confirming the location, he began observing the coffee trees' appearance, leaves, and fruits one by one, leading to the discovery of Geisha.

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

Hacienda La Esmeralda's Astonishing Auction Records

These primarily come from her unshakable championship records. The price of award-winning competition beans inevitably soars, with champion prices reaching dozens of times the market value. However, Hacienda La Esmeralda's award-winning record is unprecedented. As of 2013, they had won fifteen different coffee competition championships. Notably, the natural Geisha batch that won the 2013 Best of Panama natural category was sold 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 over 58 times that of other specialty coffees!

The Geisha Variety

Geisha green coffee beans have a beautiful blue-green color with a jade-like warm texture. They smell of fresh grass, peach, berry notes, and the unique milky sweetness characteristic of oolong tea that most coffee beans lack. It seems that aroma and flavor require associative thinking, but the subtle tea essence is something we can clearly perceive.

To highlight this bean's characteristics and aroma, roast it to the verge of second crack. The verge of second crack and first crack of second crack are commonly used roast levels that 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 give you the feeling of sipping the fragrance of a fresh flower bouquet. It originated as an ancient heirloom variety from Ethiopia, brought to 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, Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda separated it from other varieties and it won the national coffee competition championship.

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

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

Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha Classification by Altitude

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

Boquete Geisha (Green Label), 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 bidding auctions every May. Green Label does not participate in auctions but is equally high quality, slightly cheaper in price. Buyers who purchase Red Label have priority to purchase Green Label.

Hacienda La Esmeralda's Four Major Brands

1. [Esmeralda Special] An independent auction organized by Hacienda La Esmeralda itself, featuring exclusively Geisha varieties, categorized by production area names, with each area further subdivided into small batches for auction. Only Geisha batches that the estate presents for independent auction can use the Esmeralda Special name.

2. [Geisha-Boquete] Geisha varieties that are not independent competition batches, but rather a brand composed of batches from various production areas that do not participate in auctions but still maintain excellent quality. However, these remain Geisha varieties.

3. [Diamond Mountain] Hacienda Esmeralda's traditional varieties, grown in the Cañas Verdes and Jaramillo regions, approximately 1400-1700 meters. The coffee has complex flavors with distinct chocolate, vanilla, and sweet citrus notes. The cultivated varieties are standard Central American blends, including Typica, Bourbon, and Catuai.

4. [Palmira] Grown in the outskirts of Boquete town, at approximately 1000-1250 meters altitude. Only this area grows low-altitude coffee, almost entirely Catuai variety. Though not specialty-grade, the acidity is not too stimulating, with distinct nutty sweetness and chocolate flavors.

Different Brewing Methods for Geisha Coffee Beans

Will produce different tastes.

Pour Over Flavor Profile:

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

1. Equipment choice: Hario V60
2. Water temperature: 91-92°C
3. Grind size: Fuji Royal R-440 grind setting 3.5
4. Roast level: Light to medium
5. Bloom time: 35 seconds

Specific technique: Three-pulse pour-over for Geisha. 15g coffee, Fuji Royal "demon teeth" grinder setting 3.5, V60 dripper, 91-92°C water temperature. First pour 30g water, bloom for 35 seconds. Pour to 104g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to half, then pour again slowly until reaching 220g total. Discard the last 5g. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time approximately 2:00.

Siphon Flavor Profile:

Round, rich, prominent floral and fruit aromas, with突出的 fruit sweetness.

1. Equipment choice: Hario siphon
2. Water temperature: 90°C
3. Grind size: Fuji Royal R-440 grind setting 3
4. Roast level: Medium to light
5. Bloom time: 50 seconds

Specific technique: Side heating extraction. Recommend 20g coffee for 2 servings, water-to-coffee ratio 1:12, water scale mark 2. Use post-addition method - add coffee after water starts boiling. Stir 4-5 times, extract for about 50 seconds, then remove from heat. Finally, stir twice and let coffee liquid fall freely.

Cake Cup (Kalita Wave)

Measure 15g coffee beans, grind to medium coarseness (slightly coarser than table salt). We use Fuji Royal "demon teeth" grinder, 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 coffee to 30g, then stop pouring. At 1 minute, begin the second pour. Like the first pour, move in clockwise circles centered on the filter's middle, avoiding the area where coffee grounds meet the filter paper to prevent channeling.

Leave a circle when reaching the outermost layer of coffee grounds, then brew circle by circle toward the center. At 2 minutes and 20 seconds, brew coffee to 220g total. Brewing complete.

Recommended Geisha Coffee Bean Brands

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 - a 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 :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473