Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha Coffee Bean Price List 2018 Geisha Coffee Bean Price Guide

Esmeralda Special Auction 2018

The annual Esmeralda Special Auction began on June 12, 2018, Greenwich Mean Time, with the results revealed in 3 hours, 18 minutes, and 33 seconds.

2018 Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha Coffee Bean Auction

Geisha has always dominated discussion, and in the eyes of coffee professionals it is undoubtedly the well-deserved goddess. Countless people are fascinated by its bright, complex floral and fruit aromas, its multi-layered high-sweetness fruit notes, and its delicate, soft acidity.

Geisha entered the auction in 2004, and the bidding war has already pushed it to astonishing prices. Looking back at the 2017 Panama Specialty Coffee auction, a natural processed Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda fetched an astonishing $601 per pound, almost double the previous auction. That means one kilogram of green beans cost as much as 8,900 yuan.

This year, the champion of the 2018 Panama Coffee Competition was also a Geisha produced by Hacienda La Esmeralda, with a bidding price of $340 per pound, won by HARU International Corp.

Lot ES-Y-1

Harvest Date: January 31, 2018

Processing Method: Washed after 48 hours of yeast fermentation, then dried on African beds for 4 days

Altitude: 1,600 meters

Region: Canas Verdes, Palmira

Estate: Canas Verdes

Variety: Green Tip Geisha

There are two Geisha varieties: Green Tip Geisha and Bronze Tip Geisha. Green Tip Geisha is characterized by floral aromas, intense acidity, and sweetness. Bronze Tip Geisha, by contrast, features body weight and sweetness with less prominent acidity.

The family's Hacienda La Esmeralda operates its coffee farms in a corporate manner, acquiring nearby farms at different altitudes and terrains (volcanic terrain) and using the most advanced, meticulous production and planting techniques with strict management to produce extremely high-quality Geisha coffee. Geisha also suits Panama's natural conditions very well, so the Geisha produced by Hacienda La Esmeralda is opened for global bidding as a single estate, drawing international buyers, roasters, and enthusiasts to compete for it.

2018 Esmeralda Geisha Coffee Bean Auction Results

Geisha Categories in This Auction:

Yeast Processing (ES-Y): Four LOT batches, nine boxes of beans

Natural Processing (ES-N): Nine natural processed batches, thirty-five boxes of beans

Washed Processing (ES-W): Two traditional washed batches, six boxes of beans

The champion bid was $340 per pound, belonging to the yeast category Lot ES-Y-1.

Natural category highest: $109 per pound, ES-N-9-1

Washed category highest: $105 per pound, ES-W-1-5

How To Bid?

Online bidding is generally the same as bidding for items in a real-world auction room. Steps:

1. Register as a member on the Esmeralda Special Auction official website:

Website: https://auction.haciendaesmeralda.com/lots/auction/esmeralda-special-auction-2018---hacienda-la-esmeralda

2. Members can purchase samples: interested bidders can pay attention to the above website from March to April, join as members, pay $250, and receive sample beans, plus participate in 3 auctions.

New Rules for 2018 Esmeralda Special:

The quantity per lot will decrease from six boxes to one box. Therefore, each auction item equals 1 box, a small lot of 50 pounds per box.

3. Bidding: the most important part. This online auction serves as a forward auction, meaning bidding starts at a starting price determined by the auctioneer, and bidders place bids in increments higher than the previous bid. At the end, the highest bidder wins.

This year's auction starting price was $50 per pound, and the bidding lasted 3:18:33.

4. Auction End: after winning, the coffee is shipped by air (sea shipping is also available) directly to the specified address, and remittance (price plus air freight) takes about 10 days to receive the beans.

2018 Auction Geisha Highlights

According to officially disclosed information:

One of the biggest highlights of this year's auction is the addition of "yeast-processed batches": special yeast is added to the fermentation tanks for 48 hours of fermentation before washing, then the coffee is dried on drying beds for 4 days. Adding yeast during post-processing makes fermentation faster and more thorough, creating special flavors.

Processing: Fully ripe red fruits are hand-picked, filtered for undersized beans and water-float selected, then soaked in clean water for about 48 hours of fermentation with added yeast, followed by sun drying. Spread on sun-drying beds in about 1-2 layers, they go through 4 days of sun exposure at an average temperature of 16-23 degrees Celsius by day and 10-15 degrees Celsius at night, completing completely different, unique flavors.

Batch Lot ES-Y-1 and Lot ES-Y-2 come from different estates, with similar processing methods and altitudes and many similar data points, yet ES-Y-1's price is particularly outstanding (expensive).

Lot ES-Y-1: Processing method: washed after 48 hours of Type A yeast fermentation, then dried on African beds for 4 days, bidding price $340 per pound.

Altitude: 1,600 masl

Region: Canas Verdes, Palmira

Estate: Canas Verdes

Yeast: Trapiche Yeast A Enero (Type A Yeast)

Canas Verdes Farm

Half of Canas Verdes was the first farm purchased by the Peterson family in 1967, originally used for raising cattle and growing some coffee. In 2004, the Peterson family bought many small farmlands near Canas Verdes, bringing them under their management.

Canas Verdes natural Geisha has a brilliant record, its proudest achievement being first place in the natural Geisha category at "Best of Panama" 2017 (Esmeralda Geisha Canas Verdes Natural). This batch came from the 1,800-meter section and set the highest BoP bidding price to date: $601.

Lot ES-Y-2: Processing method: washed after 48 hours of Type B yeast fermentation, then dried on African beds for 4 days, bidding price $111 per pound.

Processing method: Washed after 48 hours of yeast fermentation, then dried on African beds for 4 days

Altitude: 1,600 masl

Region: Alto Quiel, Quiel

Estate: El Velo

Yeast: Trapiche Yeast B Enero (Type B Yeast)

El Velo Farm

El Velo Farm was acquired by Hacienda La Esmeralda in 2012 and is the estate's newest farm. El Velo often processes micro-batch coffee and sells it in small quantities through direct trade.

For example, Prueba 4 harvest coffee fruits come from the Burton section of El Velo Farm. This batch uses titanium dioxide immersion processing. First the mature red cherries are pulped, then the pulped fruits are placed in a sealed container filled with titanium dioxide for 62 hours, after which they are dried on a concrete terrace for 32 hours (still with mucilage remaining, so it is honey processing). The terrace temperature is controlled between 17 and 24 degrees Celsius. Prueba 4 belongs to a special innovative batch from Hacienda La Esmeralda's special reserve section.

Hacienda La Esmeralda actually includes 4 farms: Canas Verdes, El Velo, Jaramillo, and Palmira. El Velo was the latest estate purchased, in 2012, planting 400 different coffee varieties including Geisha. Here they are further divided into "Red Label," "Green Label," and "Blue Label."

Understanding "Geisha Coffee Bean," "Red Label," "Green Label," and "Blue Label" in 5 Minutes

The annual Red Label auction has ended.

This year's 2018 bidding prices are quite reasonable, so we probably don't need to drink expensive beans this year, right?

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 offer extremely high value for money - a 100-gram bag costs only 350 yuan. Calculated at 15 grams per cup, one bag can make 6 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 60 yuan. Compared with cafes selling cups for often over a hundred yuan, this is a truly conscientious recommendation.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the auction prices above make the estate's top lots feel out of reach, the Red Label is the most accessible way in. FrontStreet's Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha is grown at 1600-1800 meters, naturally processed, and cups above 90 points, with each lot individually numbered and drawn from a single small plot so you can choose the fine flavor you prefer. In the cup it shows rose, berries, apricot, complex fruit, honey, and black tea.

For a fuller view of the estate's line, the Green Label - Private Collection - blends several plots to express La Esmeralda's signature high-altitude Geisha character at a friendlier price. Where the Red Label emphasizes a single plot, the Green Label gives you the estate's house style with excellent value.

And for an entry-level taste of classic Panama Geisha, FrontStreet's Boquete Geisha uses pure genetics and washed processing to deliver the well-known orange-blossom honey sweetness, an oolong-tea impression, and a fine balance of citrus, berry, and floral notes. Geisha suits a medium-light roast and a 91 degrees Celsius pour over a Hario V60 - 15g of coffee at a 1:16 ratio, poured in three stages of 30g for a 30-second bloom, then to 125g, then to 225g - for a total extraction of about 2:10 to 2:20.