How Much is a Cup of Panama Elida Green Top Geisha and Is It Delicious? Geisha Coffee Bean Pour-Over Parameters and Flavor Description

The Remarkable Rise of Geisha Coffee

Coffee enthusiasts should have all heard of Geisha coffee! If you haven't even heard of Geisha coffee, then you really need to read the following article from FrontStreet Coffee carefully!

It's important to know that since 2004, when Geisha coffee from Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda won first place in BOP (Best of Panama), the price of previously overlooked Geisha coffee began to rise steadily. In many people's eyes, the fame of Geisha coffee came very suddenly, but little did they know about the "silent perseverance" behind it. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will tell everyone about the story of Geisha coffee before its rise to fame.

The Origins and Discovery

If FrontStreet Coffee were to speak, the story of Geisha coffee can be traced back to 1936, when Captain Richard Whaley was the consul in the Bench Maji region. His mission was to collect 10 pounds of coffee seeds from the area around Geisha Mountain. As for how the descendants of these Geisha coffee seeds later arrived at Hacienda La Esmeralda and how their unique flavor was discovered, this is a rather obscure piece of history. However, FrontStreet Coffee can infer from official records of Hacienda La Esmeralda that at the time, because Geisha coffee had some resistance to ojo de gallo (a coffee disease), Hacienda La Esmeralda began planting Geisha coffee trees, but at that time, Geisha coffee at Hacienda La Esmeralda only served as a windbreak.

In the late 1990s, as coffee production became increasingly valued, after the Peterson family of Hacienda La Esmeralda acquired the high-altitude Jaramillo farm, they discovered that although many coffee plants were devastated by coffee leaf rust, the Geisha coffee trees were not seriously damaged. Thus, they decided to start planting Geisha coffee trees in more areas of the farm, with most locations at altitudes above 1650 meters. Surprisingly, they discovered that Geisha coffee grown at high altitudes displayed exceptionally excellent flavor.

Hacienda La Esmeralda can be said to be the place where Geisha coffee made its fortune. As its reputation grew, naturally more and more estates began planting Geisha coffee, and the Geisha variety lived up to expectations, repeatedly becoming the undefeated champion in green coffee competitions.

Elida Estate's Record-Breaking Achievements

In 2018, the Lamastus family of Elida Estate created two BOP records, both related to Geisha coffee. Elida Estate's Green Tip Washed Geisha scored an ultra-high 94.66 points, breaking the 2016 record of 94.15 points set by Elida Green Tip Washed Geisha. Moreover, they swept both "first places" in the Geisha Natural and Washed categories, becoming the first "double champion" in BOP history, and won the Panama Best Producer title of that year!

In this fruitful 2018, the family's Elida Estate also celebrated its 100th anniversary. The coffee that won Best Panama Geisha in both 2018 and 2019 was the same Elida Estate Green Tip Geisha Natural ASD (Elida Estate Green Tip Geisha Anaerobic Slow Dry Natural).

Green Tip vs. Bronze Tip Geisha

So what is Green Tip Geisha? Let FrontStreet Coffee explain slowly. In fact, there are two known Geisha varieties: Green Tip and Bronze Tip, named after the appearance characteristics of the Geisha coffee tree leaves. As for the difference between the two, the general explanation is that Green Tip coffee has prominent floral flavors with very bright acidity; while Bronze Tip coffee has a smooth and creamy mouthfeel, but the floral notes are slightly inferior, with more fruit flavors. In recent years, the development trend has been that Green Tip coffee repeatedly steals the spotlight.

The competition Geisha from Elida Estate uses the ASD processing method. ASD is an abbreviation for Anaerobic Slow Dry. A relatively new technology, translated to Chinese as anaerobic low-temperature slow sun-drying. The processing process is relatively cumbersome, requiring producers to invest more time and effort. Coffee cherries are placed in airtight containers for fermentation for a period of time. As the coffee cherries ferment completely, they are slowly dried. Normal drying time is generally 10-15 days, but slow drying extends the drying time to 40+ days.

FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha Experience

As a "collector" of world-class fine coffees, FrontStreet Coffee naturally would not "let pass" such an excellent flavored coffee. Some years ago, FrontStreet Coffee acquired a batch of anaerobic fermented slow-dried Geisha coffee from Elida Estate. Grown at an altitude of 1900 meters, this Geisha coffee has fresh floral notes, with various fruit flavors "coming at you" - orange, guava, grapefruit, apricot... various flavors "spinning and jumping non-stop..." in the mouth.

To maintain the original floral notes of FrontStreet Coffee's Elida Geisha, FrontStreet Coffee chose light roasting, while allowing the coffee to slowly release more aromatic substances during development.

Value and Brewing Methods

Coffee beans of this specification are priced much higher in various coffee shops than regular coffee. It should be known that green coffee beans from renowned estates like this are often hard to obtain even with heavy investment - small production, high quality, and they sell out quickly upon release. Taking FrontStreet Coffee as an example, generally a cup of pour-over coffee costs 30 yuan (which is actually quite inexpensive), while Elida Estate's Geisha is priced at 60 yuan per cup. When facing such exquisitely flavored coffee, its brewing method differs from ordinary coffee. Below are the parameters FrontStreet Coffee uses when brewing this coffee, for your reference:

Recommended brewing method: Pour-over

Filter: V60

Water temperature: 90-92°C

Coffee amount: 15 grams

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:16

Grind size: Medium-fine (Chinese standard #20 sieve, 80% pass rate)

Brewing method: Segmented extraction

Use 30 grams of water for blooming, bloom time about 30 seconds. When injecting 125 grams of water with a small stream in a circular pattern around the center, segment the process. Wait until the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, then continue pouring water to 225 grams to finish. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup. (Timing starts from the beginning of blooming) Extraction time is about 200 seconds, with an additional 10 seconds being within the normal range.

Friends who often watch FrontStreet Coffee's brewing tutorials should have noticed! FrontStreet Coffee basically uses a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio when brewing other coffees, but when brewing Geisha coffee, FrontStreet Coffee will increase the ratio to 1:16. This is because Geisha coffee generally grows at extremely high altitudes. High altitude and low temperatures cause coffee beans to mature more slowly, thus allowing them to accumulate more aromatic substances. Moreover, Elida Estate's fertile volcanic soil also provides many nutrients for the growth of this coffee. Because of this, a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio is not quite suitable for Geisha coffee. FrontStreet Coffee has done experiments showing that at 1:15, Geisha coffee's flavor is too concentrated and doesn't reveal its specific flavor characteristics. However, 1:16 can perfectly showcase the most complete and clearest flavors.

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