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

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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 coffee 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 coffee 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 some Geisha trees because they were used as windbreaks for coffee trees. That's right—you read that correctly—as windbreaks. Moreover, Geisha trees had unstable yields and were often mixed with regular coffee beans, making them a primary coffee 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, they weren't sure whether this taste would appeal to discerning coffee enthusiasts.

Unexpectedly, Geisha, when transplanted to Panama, found its ideal growing location. If planted below 1,400 meters, Geisha not only has low yields but also poor flavor. 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 in the garden. Later, he learned from Don Pachi Serracin, the owner of Don Pachi Estate, that La Esmeralda had a Geisha variety introduced by Serracin that was disease-resistant. Two years later, in 1998, Price Peterson decided to plant this little-known variety in 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—something 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 high scores this 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 was the lowest price never again seen for the first-place Geisha in subsequent "Best of Panama" competitions. It set a record of $350 in 2013, and by 2015, this price had reached $140. In an exclusive interview with Australian media The BeanScene magazine 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 us of this history. When Geisha started bearing cherries in 2002, Rachel Peterson's brother Daniel decided to systematically test the flavors of different coffees in the estate. "From the harvest, we had to carefully distinguish different varieties, different plots, different days of cherry picking batches, 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 discovered exceptionally flavorful cherries in the high-altitude valleys of La Esmeralda (1500-1650 meters). As for Geisha from other locations, even though they were also Geisha, their 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

However, 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 floral notes—these are absolutely not traditional Panamanian coffee flavors." He himself initially suspected whether there were flaws in the processing that created these flavors. 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 when cooled.

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 varietal might be even greater." Thoresen said.

The Evolution of Batch Processing

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

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

What remained unchanged was La Esmeralda. To this day, the Geisha batches from Hacienda La Esmeralda that participate in "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's located in Panama's Cordillera Central. The eastern part of the Cordillera Central extends from Costa Rica into 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. Due to varying maturation periods, the harvest season can extend from December to May. The famous Danish roaster Coffee Collective once visited Hacienda La Esmeralda and discovered 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 this entire 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 in 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,仅次于 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 attention during the roasting process—Geisha's roasting curve should not be too long, otherwise the flavors will 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 light roasting better reveal 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 floral notes, sugarcane, green tea sensation, and more.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473