Origins of Geisha Coffee and How to Distinguish Blue, Green, and Red Label Geisha Beans from Panama's La Esmeralda Estate

The Rise of Geisha Coffee in International Competitions

In recent years, Geisha coffee has made its presence known at major coffee competitions worldwide. Coffee enthusiasts are well aware that the most renowned Geisha comes from Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. Additionally, FrontStreet Coffee also offers Geisha coffee beans from Geisha Village in Ethiopia, the original origin of Geisha. However, even though Geisha Village is the birthplace of Geisha coffee, its flavor profile still slightly falls short compared to the Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will share the story of Panama Geisha coffee.

The Historical Spread of Geisha Coffee

The Geisha coffee variety was discovered in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia in 1931. Subsequently, Geisha was sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya. In 1936, it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania, then to Costa Rica in 1953, and finally to Panama in 1970.

However, according to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Geisha coffee received little attention during this period. This was because Geisha coffee trees had very low yields, were difficult to cultivate, and offered low economic benefits, so nobody paid much attention to them.

Later, the owner of Hacienda La Esmeralda and his son discovered that Geisha coffee beans possessed unique flavors that differed significantly from those of coffee grown in Panama's local regions. In 2003, they began cultivating the Geisha variety separately. In 2004, they entered Geisha variety coffee beans in the BOP coffee competition and won first place. Geisha coffee thus became famous overnight, appearing in the视野 of coffee enthusiasts worldwide, while also sparking a Geisha coffee cultivation trend in Panama. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share the story of Hacienda La Esmeralda, the benchmark of the Geisha coffee industry.

Hacienda La Esmeralda

The history of Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama begins in 1964, when American banker Rudolph Peterson retired, moved to Panama, and purchased Hacienda La Esmeralda located in Boquete. Initially, the estate focused on dairy farming. It wasn't until his son Price resigned from his medical practice and came to this land to assist his father in managing the farm that coffee cultivation began. In 1987, they introduced two coffee varieties: Caturra and Catuai. In 1994, they established a washed processing plant, officially entering the path of specialty coffee production. In 1996, Hacienda La Esmeralda acquired the nearby Hiramio estate, which had an excellent geographical environment and high-quality existing coffee varieties, incorporating it into Hacienda La Esmeralda.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research of relevant materials, the reason the Peterson father and son took notice of Hiramio estate was precisely because of its existing coffee beans, which carried delightful citrus and floral fruit aromas, different from the original taste of Panamanian coffee. After cup testing coffee beans from different areas of the estate, they discovered that the source was unknown coffee trees growing at the highest point of the estate. Due to their low yields, the previous owner had only used them as windbreaks. This tree is now known to coffee enthusiasts as the Geisha coffee tree.

Later, this Geisha coffee bean discovered by Peterson made a stunning debut when it won the 2004 Panama BOP green bean competition. After expert identification, it was confirmed that this coffee bean was the Geisha variety from Ethiopia. Subsequently, the Peterson family focused most of their energy on developing infrastructure to support strict separation of outstanding batches and fine processing methods. This is what we now see at FrontStreet Coffee as Red Label Geisha, Green Label Geisha, and Blue Label Geisha.

Grading Standards for Esmeralda's Red, Green, and Blue Labels

As mentioned by FrontStreet Coffee above, Hacienda La Esmeralda implements strict and detailed classification for all coffee beans produced on the estate, making its marketing strategy different from other estates. The classification is based on cupping performance, cultivated varieties, and growing plots, divided into five major brands. Among these, Geisha varieties comprise three brands: Esmeralda Special (Red Label), Private Collection (Blue Label), and Geisha 1500 (Green Label). Next, FrontStreet Coffee will explain the differences between these three Geisha labels.

Esmeralda Estate Red Label Geisha

Esmeralda Special, commonly known as Red Label, represents Hacienda La Esmeralda's premium Geisha outside of auction batches. This batch of Geisha is cultivated at altitudes above 1600 meters and has cupping scores no lower than 91 points. Each micro-batch has detailed traceability information, including plot, altitude, latitude and longitude, tree age, harvest time, processing method, and more.

For example, the latest Red Label batch acquired by FrontStreet Coffee was selected from the Sugar Cane plot, with fruit harvested on February 13th of this year. After 25 days of slow natural drying, it brought rich aromas to the coffee, similar to jasmine, cranberry, passion fruit, citrus, and cinnamon.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Country: Panama
Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda)
Altitude: 1700 m
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Natural Process
Flavor: Citrus, Complex Fruits, Rose Tea, Honey

Esmeralda Estate Green Label Geisha

Private Collection, commonly known as Green Label, was previously a non-auction but excellent quality Geisha batch. Green Label is harvested from a blend of Geisha from different plots within the two main estates at altitudes between 1600-1800 meters. With its classic citrus-honey sweetness, it has become the preferred choice for many budget-conscious Geisha enthusiasts. Starting from 2022, Hacienda La Esmeralda began indicating which sub-estate this grade of Geisha comes from.

Due to the blending model without detailed plot specification, sometimes the flavor similarity between Green Label and Red Label Geisha is very high. Additionally, although Green Label Geisha is not as high-grade as Red Label Geisha, it still possesses the classic Geisha flavors, such as Geisha coffee's characteristic floral and fruit aromas, citrus acidity, and thick, juicy mouthfeel. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes that Green Label Geisha offers the best value among these three labels.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Green Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Country: Panama
Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda)
Altitude: 1700 m
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Natural Process
Flavor: Jasmine, Citrus, Honeydew Melon, Berries

Esmeralda Estate Blue Label Geisha

Geisha 1500, commonly known as Blue Label, is cultivated at altitudes of 1400-1500 meters. Blue Label blends Geisha coffee beans from three different plots: Jaramillo, Canas Verdes, and El Velo. In previous years, Blue Label Geisha was only available in washed processing, but this year's Blue Label batch added natural processing.

It's worth noting that Hacienda La Esmeralda discontinued the Blue Label series starting in 2021, selling Geisha from this region externally as Volcanic Rock Geisha coffee beans. The flavor profile remains the same as the original Blue Label. FrontStreet Coffee notes that Volcanic Rock Geisha is only available in washed processing, with light floral aromas, fruit sweetness and acidity, and a less full mouthfeel compared to the other two labels.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Washed Blue Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Country: Panama
Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda)
Altitude: 1400-1500 m
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Washed Process
Flavor: Lemon, Oolong Tea, Cane Sugar, Peach

Plot Division of Esmeralda Estate

Finally, as mentioned by FrontStreet Coffee above, Hacienda La Esmeralda has three main plots where Geisha coffee is cultivated, and Geisha coffee is also classified based on these three plots. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce the characteristics of these three plots.

Hacienda La Esmeralda has a total of 4 main coffee cultivation areas, of which 3 plots grow Geisha varieties: Jaramillo, Canas Verdes, and El Velo. Each plot is further subdivided into different smaller plots.

Jaramillo

As the earliest estate purchased by the Peterson family, Jaramillo is the discovery site of Geisha. The average age of coffee plants here is as high as 15 years or more. The terrain here is relatively low, with an average maximum altitude of only 1700 meters, but the slope is steep, making harvesting work somewhat challenging.

Jaramillo is named after the Jaramillo mountains east of Boquete. The annual rainfall is 4000ml, with average daytime temperatures between 19-25°C and nighttime temperatures between 11-15°C. The entire area's air is humid and cold. Jaramillo is subdivided into 6 Red Label plots: Mario, Noria, Reina, Bosque, Buenos Aires, and Caballeriza, which was added last year.

Canas Verdes

Canas Verdes estate is typically transliterated as Kan Nasi Wei Dis in China, while in Spanish it would be translated as "green reeds" or "green fields." Half of Canas Verdes was purchased together with Jaramillo in 1967. After Geisha became famous overnight in 2004, the Peterson family gradually began purchasing surrounding small cultivation areas. The entire cultivation area is situated on the eastern slopes of Baru Volcano, with a large altitude span ranging from 1500 to 2050 meters.

The annual rainfall in Canas Verdes is 3500ml, with average daytime temperatures between 16-23°C and nighttime temperatures between 10-15°C. The highly complex terrain structure, volcanic soil, and distinct day-night temperature differences give Geisha its aromatic characteristics. Currently, the Geisha cultivation area in Canas Verdes includes 11 small plots: Lino, Coronado, Fundador, León, Montaña, Trapiche, Jacinta, Cabaña, Tumaco, Nido, and Colga.

El Velo Estate

El Velo (Veil) is the newest area purchased by Hacienda La Esmeralda in 2012. It is the highest altitude plot on average in the estate and the only area that has undergone detailed leveling. Besides mainly producing Geisha, El Velo also cultivates over 400 coffee varieties purchased from CATIE, including Laurina, Pacamara, Mocha, and SL28, for long-term development and exploration. Compared to the other two cultivation areas, El Velo's altitude extends from 1650-1900 meters up the mountain. The average annual rainfall is 4000ml, with average daytime temperatures between 16-25°C and nighttime temperatures between 11-16°C.

The entire area covers 50.25 hectares of coffee cultivation land, of which 37.9 hectares are dedicated to Geisha cultivation, divided into 7 detailed plots: Guabo, Portón, Durazno, Mural, Higo, Buena Vista, and Águila.

Esmeralda Estate Geisha Brewing Recommendations

The above is the information about Esmeralda Estate Geisha compiled by FrontStreet Coffee. Before listing any coffee bean, FrontStreet Coffee conducts extensive cupping and brewing tests to extract the optimal flavor brewing parameters for brewing to Frontsteet's coffee enthusiast friends. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share brewing parameters for these three Esmeralda Estate Geisha coffees.

FrontStreet Coffee Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Coffee Bean Brewing Recommendations:

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans for brewing to fully experience the rich flavors of coffee. Coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee understands well that coffee bean freshness greatly affects flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring that every customer receives the freshest coffee when placing an order. The coffee resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at peak flavor.

Dripper: Hario V60
Water Temperature: 90°C
Coffee Amount: 15 grams
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (80% pass-through rate on China #20 standard sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method: Multi-stage extraction

Use 30g of water for bloom for 30 seconds. Using small water flow, pour in a circular motion to 125g, then segment. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper (timing starts from bloom). Total extraction time: 2'00".

Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha Flavor Descriptions

[Red Label] Bright rose and citrus aromas, brown rice, berries, apricot, complex fruits, honey, with thick juice-like mouthfeel, rich flavor layers, and noticeable sweetness.

[Green Label] Rich jasmine flower aroma upon entry, high sweetness, citrus, berries, juice-like mouthfeel, cream, green tea, orange peel, cantaloupe, with overall rich flavor layers and persistent floral and citrus aftertaste.

[Blue Label] Gentle acidity of lemon and grapefruit upon entry. As the temperature slightly cools, notes of oolong tea, honey, and cane sugar sweetness emerge, with a relatively clean and bright mouthfeel.

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