Introduction to Guatemala Einheit Manor Ruby Geisha Coffee_The Historical Origins of Guatemala Geisha

FrontStreet Coffee: Guatemala Ruby Geisha Coffee EI02-02 Batch

Name: Ruby Geisha Coffee - Natural Process EI02-02 Batch GESHA RUBY DRY PROCESS EI02-02

Estate: EI Injerto Estate

Certification: Rain Forest Alliance and CARBON NEUTRAL

Award Record: 2017 COE 3rd Place

Batch: EI02-02

Harvest Date: January to March 2018

Variety: MALAWI GESHA

Growing Altitude: 1710 masl

Average Temperature: 13ºC to 26ºC

Rainfall: Average approximately 1500 mm

Origin: Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Historical Origin

This luxurious exotic seed was personally handed to us by an excellent friend from Malawi. Using the traditional method of preserving seeds in local soil ash to extend their storage time. The seed size is smaller than traditional Geisha coffee beans, but when the fruit ripens and is ready for picking, it presents a dark ruby-like red color, which is the origin of its name. Additionally, the plant is slightly smaller than traditional Geisha varieties.

Cupping Notes

This is a bean with excellent flavor and complexity. The dry and wet aroma is rich with blueberry, raspberry, cherry, floral notes, and subtle spice notes mixed with the characteristic fermented wine aroma of natural processed beans. When tasting, the flavors of jasmine, melon, and fermented sweet wine are quite prominent, followed by a chocolate-like sensation in the mouth with a light minty finish enriching the entire cup. After cooling, citrus chocolate flavors emerge and connect.

Geisha Coffee

Geisha, also known as "Geisha" (艺妓), is a rare coffee variety that only performs exceptionally well under very special conditions. It was discovered in a Kaffa forest in Ethiopia. First discovered in the 1930s growing wild near the town of Geisha. Geisha coffee grows in Ethiopia, which is the birthplace of coffee and the genetic kingdom of coffee, with numerous varieties, so many Ethiopian coffee beans are directly labeled as "heirloom" in terms of variety.

The Geisha variety was discovered in 1931 from the Geisha forest in Ethiopia. Geisha didn't receive much attention locally and was directly used as a windbreak forest until Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. Later, Geisha was sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya, introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936, introduced to Costa Rica in 1953, and introduced to Panama in 1970. Finally, it was separated from other varieties by Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda and taken to competitions, becoming the BOP competition champion in 2004. It became famous overnight, and thus Geisha entered everyone's vision, becoming a leader among specialty coffees.

Geisha coffee originated in Ethiopia but became famous through Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. Panama Geisha coffee has citrus, fruity sweetness without acidity, honey, and rich texture - a coffee that everyone loves. Compared to Ethiopian coffee, Geisha has more of a juice-like quality, just like a glass of fruit tea, very delicious and leaving an endless aftertaste. FrontStreet Coffee, besides Panama Geisha, also offers Costa Rica Mirasu Geisha blend coffee, Colombia Hanami Geisha coffee, and more. The flavor of Geisha varies by producing region. Although Panamanian Geisha is considered the best tasting, Geisha coffee from other regions is also excellent. Because each producing region has its own terroir characteristics, each has its own merits.

Geographical Environment

Guatemala has volcanic soil, and its coffee beans naturally carry this characteristic, which is also a feature of Guatemalan coffee. Guatemala has eight coffee-producing regions, with tropical rainforests, volcanic geology, highland valleys, etc., creating diverse coffee flavors. Among them, Antigua and Huehuetenango are the two most famous regions. El Injerto Estate has always played a pioneering role in Central American specialty coffee. About 50 years ago, it was one of the first estates to focus on single varieties and vertically integrated production of high-quality coffee.

El Injerto Estate has always been a pioneer in Central American specialty coffee. They have won 16 awards in 11 years in COE competitions. El Injerto Estate has a total area of 447 hectares, mostly located between 1500 to 2000 meters above sea level, growing coffee, fruits, basic food crops, and ornamental plants. The remaining hectares are preserved as millennium-old primary forests. The estate has a special temperature curve and enjoys clean water sources from mountain springs.

Additionally, this creates a perfect habitat for wildlife, allowing coffee trees to grow within a natural environmental ecosystem. The estate's annual rainfall is approximately 1800-2000 mm, with relative humidity of 75%. The soil is deep volcanic soil with good drainage and rich organic matter, creating excellent coffee cherries.

Jesus Aguirre acquired this estate in 1874. He initially planted sugarcane to make panela (brown sugar), while also growing corn, beans, and tobacco on the estate. During the 1900s, he began planting coffee and called this growing area "El Injerto," a name derived from a local fruit. Since then, El Injerto Estate has been a leader in quality and innovation in Guatemala's coffee industry.

Huehuetenango / El Injerto Estate

Among Guatemala's three non-volcanic coffee-producing regions, Huehuetenango is the highest altitude and driest region. El Injerto Estate is located on the famous Huehuetenango plateau in Guatemala, and the Aguirre family has been growing coffee since 1900. The estate name "Injerto" is taken from a local fruit name.

El Injerto Estate places special emphasis on ecological environment protection and organic cultivation techniques, implementing strict quality control to ensure the quality of green coffee beans. Through the efforts of the Aguirre family, El Injerto Estate has also received Rainforest Alliance certification and has been a frequent winner in many international coffee competitions since 2002.

El Injerto Estate, which has won multiple COE championships, is located on the Huehuetenango plateau. The estate began growing coffee in 1900 and is operated by the Aguirre family. Large areas of primary rainforest are preserved within the estate, with extensive plant shade coverage. The average temperature is around 18 to 22 degrees Celsius. Extensive plant shade coverage, high-altitude cultivation, abundant sunlight, and pleasant temperatures provide a unique survival environment for coffee trees.

As one of the most famous coffee-producing regions, the coffee produced here has flavors of berries, lemon peel, and fruit acidity. Compared to Ethiopian coffee, the texture is relatively thicker.

About the Pacamara Variety

Famous worldwide through the Cup of Excellence (COE) in 2004, it frequently won championships within 2-3 years. The Pacamara produced by Guatemala's El Injerto Estate set a record price of $80.2 per pound of green beans in 2008. The origin of the variety and name: It is a derived variety from Maragogype (Elephant Bean) and Pacas, taking the first 4 letters of Maragogype and Pacas to form Pacamara. It is an excellent coffee variety developed in El Salvador. The coffee beans are very large, similar to elephant beans at about 21-22 mesh, making it an outstanding coffee variety in Central and South America in recent years.

Although the Pacamara variety's appearance is quite similar to its cousin - the elephant bean variety. Since 2006, COE has cupped Pacamara from 30 estates, with some flavors truly superstar-caliber, such as 2006 Honduras champion Santa Martha, 2007 El Salvador third-place Cerro Negro (Cerro Negro Estate), Guatemala's regular COE champion estate El Injerto, and 2008 El Salvador runner-up Pacamaral Estate. These are all excellent Pacamara representatives, but they are all award-winning batches, so the prices are very expensive.

Self-Organized Auction

El Injerto is also one of the few estates that organizes its own online auctions, renowned alongside Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda auctions, making it a must-participate event for global green coffee buyers. Starting from 2011, El Injerto offers the best quality coffee batches for auction, called "El Injerto Estate Auction." These batches are meticulously handled from variety cultivation, planting, harvesting, through to post-processing.

Unique Coffee Processing Methods

El Injerto employs workers paid double the local wages to manually select fully ripe coffee cherries. They have an independent water processing facility, where after pulping, they perform two bean size gradings, then wash them with clean mountain spring water. Next, they enter clean water tanks, ferment for 2 days, and sun-dry for 7 days. Finally, they are stored in warehouses for at least 45 days before being sent for professional cupping.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee has two Guatemala coffees: one is a daily-drinker Huehuetenango coffee with varieties of Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuai; the other is a single-origin Guatemala Flora God coffee with varieties of Caturra and Bourbon. Guatemalan coffee beans naturally have the Latin American characteristic nut and cocoa notes, with light floral aromas and soft fruit acidity. FrontStreet Coffee uses a medium-light roasting approach to preserve more floral and fruit aromas, with clean and bright acidity.

FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Coffee Brewing Parameters:

Guatemalan coffee beans are medium-light roasted, and the dissolution rate of coffee substances in lightly roasted beans is lower than in dark roasted beans. FrontStreet Coffee suggests using a V60 dripper with faster flow rate, higher water temperature, and finer grind size.

FrontStreet Coffee uses medium-fine grind/fine sugar consistency (80% pass-through rate with China #20 standard sieve). Using 15g of coffee grounds, combined with V60 dripper, 91°C water temperature, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, and three-pour pouring technique for brewing.

Using a three-stage extraction, bloom with 2 times the amount of water to coffee grounds, i.e., 30g of water for 30 seconds. The blooming process is necessary to allow the coffee grounds to release internal carbon dioxide gas, thereby making the later extraction more stable. With small water flow, pour in circles until reaching 125g, then continue pouring to 225g and stop. Wait until all water drips through the filter cup, then remove the filter cup. Time starts from the beginning of pouring, with an extraction time of 2'00". Next, pick up the entire cup of coffee, shake it evenly, and pour it into a cup for tasting.

Guatemala Huehuetenango Coffee Flavor Characteristics: Citrus and berry acidity, lemon peel, nutty aroma in the middle, tea-like finish.

Guatemala Flora God Coffee Flavor Characteristics: Berry acidity, citrus, light chocolate, rich layers, smooth texture.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations:

Regarding coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans greatly affects the flavor of coffee. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee ships coffee beans roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when it arrives. The coffee resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it's at the peak of flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee gently reminds: If coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need for a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide in the packaging can also make the coffee flavor more rounded, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, because after ground coffee comes into contact with air, it oxidizes relatively quickly, meaning the coffee's flavor will dissipate more quickly, and the coffee's flavor won't be as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests buying whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing, so you can better taste the coffee's flavor.

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Important Notice :

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