Introduction to Hara Miao from Panama's Finca Jaramillo Estate - How to Roast Panama Geisha Coffee?

Geisha turned the coffee world upside down in the early 2000s, and its story is as much about patient estate work as it is about luck.

The Origins and Discovery of Geisha Coffee

Geisha coffee was developed and flourished in Panamanian estates, but its story is that of a foreign prince who successfully became a new king. The Geisha variety was discovered in Ethiopia, then traveled through Kenya's coffee research institute to many African countries like Uganda and Tanzania, where it remained an unappreciated variety used only for research purposes.

Later, when someone introduced Geisha to Costa Rica, it was brought to Panama through the connections of Don Pachi Estate. Many estates could be seen with a few Geisha trees, because they were used as windbreaks for coffee trees. That's right, as windbreaks. Geisha trees also had unstable yields and were often mixed with regular coffee beans, so they were treated as a minor side project. It wasn't until around the year 2000 that an estate discovered that Geisha actually had exceptionally delicious flavors. While excited about this discovery, the family wasn't sure whether the taste would appeal to discerning coffee drinkers.

Unexpectedly, Geisha, when transplanted to Panama, found its ideal growing location. If planted below 1,400 meters, Geisha not only yields poorly but also tastes poor. It must be grown at high altitudes to fully express its characteristic flavors.

The Peterson Family and Hacienda La Esmeralda

Hacienda La Esmeralda had previously gone through several different owners. When Peterson bought the estate, he wasn't actually aware of the numerous coffee varieties growing on it. Later, he learned from Don Pachi Serracin, the owner of Don Pachi Estate, that La Esmeralda had a disease-resistant Geisha variety that Serracin had introduced. Two years later, in 1998, Price Peterson decided to plant this little-known variety on the new estate, covering about 50 hectares, a very bold decision at the time.

These newly planted trees bore cherries for the first time in 2002, with their first harvest in 2003. The following year, the Peterson family entered them in the 2004 "Best of Panama" competition and won first place. After cupping, one of the judges, Willem Boot, gave it an incredible 94 points, a score even he found unbelievable. Of the 15 judges, 14 were completely won over by this unheard-of Geisha. Before this, Hacienda La Esmeralda's beans could only sell for $1.20 per pound. Later, Price Peterson recalled that before the auction, given the scores the bean received from the judges, he expected it might sell for a record-breaking $7. When the bidding continued to climb, he thought hackers had invaded and were playing a prank on them. The final auction price reached an astonishing $21 per pound.

In fact, that was just the beginning of Geisha's golden era. $21 turned out to be the lowest price ever seen again for the first-place Geisha in subsequent "Best of Panama" competitions, since the winning lots never sold that cheaply again. A new record of $350 per pound was set in 2013, and by 2015 lots were still fetching around $140. In an exclusive interview with the Australian magazine The BeanScene last year, Rachel Peterson spoke about the discovery of Geisha: "It was purely luck, perhaps with a little bit of effort. We were lucky to buy an estate that originally had Geisha trees growing, lucky that when we replanted this mysterious variety it grew very well, and lucky that we had suitable rainfall and high altitude for Geisha to thrive. Everything can only be attributed to our good fortune."

Buying Hacienda La Esmeralda was luck, but that "little bit of effort" changed the entire specialty coffee industry.

The Scientific Approach to Geisha Discovery

In 2014, for the 10th anniversary of Geisha in "Best of Panama," Robert Thoresen, founder of Norway's Kaffa, wrote a lengthy article reminding readers of this history. When Geisha started bearing cherries in 2002, Rachel Peterson's brother Daniel decided to systematically test the flavors of different coffees on the estate. "From the harvest, we had to carefully distinguish different varieties, different plots and different days of cherry picking, and then cup all of them separately. This was absolutely a new approach in coffee cultivation at that time." Thoresen emphasized that only with this methodology could they truly discover Geisha's uniqueness. Daniel Peterson finally found exceptionally flavorful cherries in the high-altitude valleys of La Esmeralda at 1500-1650 meters. As for Geisha from other locations, even though it was also Geisha, the flavors were far inferior to this special plot, which accounted for only about 3% of all La Esmeralda Geisha production.

The Extraordinary Flavor Profile of Geisha

Even Geisha's flavor initially made everyone incredulous. In 2012, Daniel mentioned Geisha's flavor in a public speech in Paris: "Blueberry, orange, intense jasmine florals. These are absolutely not traditional Panamanian coffee flavors." He himself initially suspected whether there were flaws in the processing that created them. Willem Boot, a judge in 2004, thought perhaps Ethiopian beans had been mistakenly placed on the cupping table. We can also add strong citrus notes, pineapple, mango and other tropical fruit flavors to Geisha's flavor spectrum. Geisha's body is not heavy, but this doesn't prevent the aftertaste from lingering on the palate long after drinking. If not consumed quickly, Geisha becomes even more charming as it cools.

After Geisha's emergence, variety suddenly became the primary consideration. "In the past, talking only about the terroir of origin was no longer sufficient, because the differences caused by variety might be even greater," Thoresen said.

The Evolution of Batch Processing

Meanwhile, lot separation became increasingly refined. Even at Hacienda La Esmeralda, the competition lots were initially created by Daniel selecting the best batches from all the estate's lots and mixing them together. From a certain perspective, then, it was Daniel who "created" La Esmeralda's final flavor. From 2004 to 2007, Esmeralda won first place every year, proving the strategy was viable. However, roasters including Thoresen hoped to cup the different plot lots within La Esmeralda themselves and then decide which batch they preferred.

Finally, the Peterson family accepted suggestions from the specialty coffee community and began separating lots by plot and harvest time. Starting in 2008, Hacienda La Esmeralda established its own online auction. By the 2009 and 2010 auction lots, different plot codes within La Esmeralda were already marked, such as Mario representing 1500-1650 meters altitude, which was actually the plot that produced the championship lot in 2004.

What remained unchanged was the La Esmeralda name. To this day, the Geisha lots from Hacienda La Esmeralda that enter "Best of Panama" competitions are still called La Esmeralda.

The Unique Terroir of Boquete

Besides altitude, Boquete's terrain and climate are quite special. It sits in Panama's Cordillera Central. The eastern part of the Cordillera Central extends from Costa Rica into the Panama Canal, with its highest point being Baru Volcano. The climatic conditions on the northern and southern foothills are completely different. The north faces the Atlantic, with no shortage of cold winds and rain, while the south faces the Pacific, with a dry, warm climate. Annual rainfall ranges from 1500mm to 5000mm, with significant variations in terrain and altitude. Because maturation periods vary, the harvest season can extend from December to May. The famous Danish roaster Coffee Collective once visited Hacienda La Esmeralda and encountered strong mountain winds. The estate planted rows of windbreaks, but the wind penetrating through the trees was still astonishing. Most varieties couldn't withstand such strong winds.

No wonder Jamaica, Brazil, Colombia and other countries all received Geisha tree seeds, but only Boquete, Panama, was the first to grow coffee that amazed the world.

However, the most intriguing aspect of the whole story is that from 1963, when Don Pachi brought Geisha back to his hometown, until its rediscovery in 2004, for 40 years Geisha was planted on many estates in Boquete, including by Don Pachi Serracin himself, who personally brought back seedlings and distributed them to fellow farmers. His own Don Pachi Estate was also high enough, at over 1,600 meters above sea level. The year after Geisha triumphed at "Best of Panama," in 2005, Don Pachi also entered Geisha from his own estate in the competition and easily won second place, second only to La Esmeralda.

Roasting and Brewing Geisha Coffee

To fully reveal Geisha's character, special attention must be paid to roasting. Geisha is generally grown at high altitudes above 1,500 meters. FrontStreet Coffee sources beans from 1,700m altitude, high-density, hard beans with full, medium-sized forms. The beans are thick and elongated with pointed ends.

FrontStreet Coffee uses light roasting to highlight this bean's characteristics and aroma. This roast level better expresses the bean's inherent qualities. Too dark a roast would damage the floral notes and fruit acidity. Of course, this should also be adjusted according to the bean's characteristics and the roaster's understanding of the bean itself.

FrontStreet Coffee pays close attention during the roasting process. Geisha's roasting curve should not be too long, otherwise the flavors become dull. After first crack, the temperature rise should not be too high. Since Geisha beans have pointed ends, they easily develop black scorch marks. A temperature rise below 6 degrees is better, and a light roast better reveals the tea rose aroma.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Parameters:

Cake cup/91°C/1:15 ratio/Time 2'10"

Flavor Notes:

Rose tea, citrus, jasmine florals, sugarcane, green tea sensation, and more.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Given how central Hacienda La Esmeralda and the Jaramillo plot are to the Geisha story, the most direct way to taste it is with FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Esmeralda Red Label Geisha. Officially named "Esmeralda Special," the Red Label is grown between 1600-1800 meters, and every lot must cup above 90 points and carries its own individual number, with all the beans in a single lot coming from one small plot. The Red Label Geisha offered by FrontStreet comes from the Jaramillo plot, so buyers can choose a lot to match their preferred nuance.

If you want the Boquete character at a more accessible level, FrontStreet's Panama Boquete Geisha is an entry-level Geisha that still delivers the classic orange-blossom honeyed sweetness, oolong tea sensation and fine fruit acidity of high-quality Panamanian Geisha. Both are light roasted and best brewed as pour-over, exactly as described above.