What is the optimal brewing temperature for light roast Colombian Nariño Washed Geisha coffee beans?

Coffee Information

Coffee Origin: South America, Colombia

Coffee Region: Nariño, Buesaco town

Coffee Estate: Luis Fernando Benavides Estate

Coffee Variety: Geisha

Growing Altitude: 1900-2000m

Processing Method: Washed

Estate Story

Nariño is located in southwestern Colombia, belonging to the country's high-altitude region with rugged and steep terrain. This makes it one of the most challenging growing regions for coffee farmers, with only a small number of elite farmers able to develop here.

Most coffee in Colombia is produced through cooperation between small farmers and cooperatives or related organizations. The city of Buesaco has many private cooperatives and buyers, with Nordic Approach being one of them. However, in addition to production, NA has also established cupping laboratories locally and provides educational training, attracting many quality-conscious coffee farmers. They continuously cup and track excellent batches from nearby regions, which not only helps buyers find outstanding coffee but also provides deeper understanding of the region and rewards farmers and their communities.

Because the Luis Fernando Benavides Estate is located near Buesaco in Nariño province, the coffee name also includes Buesaco. In Buesaco, warm air rises from the canyon at night, providing a protective layer for the coffee trees on the mountaintops. These combined conditions allow coffee trees to fully absorb solar energy during the day and become active at night, which helps coffee trees concentrate on flowering and extends the maturation period of coffee cherries. As a micro-lot small farmer, Alirio Gomez carefully tends to the harvested coffee cherries through his own micro mill after picking them during May-July and November-December each year, and performs subsequent processing operations such as depulping, fermentation, and drying to produce green beans. The flavor features floral notes, vanilla cream, roasted nuts, and citrus sweetness, with dark fruit tones, balanced acidity, and a delicate, juicy texture.

Geisha Coffee Bean Variety Introduction

Geisha coffee beans, also called Gesha or sometimes referred to by other names, are actually the same coffee bean variety. Its name comes from Geisha Mountain in southwestern Ethiopia, pronounced similarly to the famous Japanese Geisha, hence the name.

Geisha coffee beans have an extraordinary legend... It turns out this coffee bean variety originates from southwestern Ethiopia. In 1963, Don Pachi Serracin introduced Geisha coffee trees from Costa Rica to Panama. Due to low yields, which directly affected harvest amounts, coffee farmers had little interest in cultivating them. It wasn't until Daniel Peterson, owner of Panama La Esmeralda estate, accidentally discovered that the coffee beans produced by these Geisha coffee trees—originally used as windbreaks at the highest point of his coffee estate—had the characteristic citrus and floral aromas of African beans. After separating these coffee beans and entering them in the 2004 Panama Cupping Competition, they became an overnight success. Since then, Geisha beans have been unstoppable, winning the Panama Cupping Competition championship for many consecutive years. In the eyes of specialty coffee enthusiasts worldwide today, Geisha coffee beans are undoubtedly supreme treasures.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Suggestions/Analysis

As one of the most outstanding varieties among many coffee types, Geisha is greatly loved by coffee enthusiasts. Among them, washed-processed Geisha best highlights the inherent flavor characteristics of Geisha itself. The special quality of Geisha lies in its very distinct and clear floral and citrus flavors, extremely high cleanliness, soft and elegant acidity, long-lasting cotton-like sweetness, and the mouthfeel of premium black tea.

To fully reveal these characteristics, special attention must be paid to roasting. Geisha is generally grown at high altitudes above 1,500 meters, resulting in high-hardness, high-density beans. They have a plump appearance, medium particle size, thick and elongated bodies, with slightly pointed ends.

So how can we express Geisha's unique flavors through roasting?

The roasting approach is: due to the bean's high hardness and density, we initially use high heat for dehydration and quickly establish a temperature difference between the bean surface and core. For more floral notes, the Maillard reaction time needs to be relatively short, so after turning yellow, the heat is adjusted to medium-high to quickly bring the beans into first crack. Shortening the time from turning yellow to first crack also increases cleanliness. If the temperature rises too quickly after first crack, it will intensify caramelization and eliminate floral and fruit aromas. Therefore, just before entering first crack, we significantly reduce the heat to slow the temperature rise and fully open the air damper at the start of first crack. We drop the beans when the first crack becomes dense, allowing the bean core to develop while retaining maximum aroma and sugars.

Cupping Flavor Description

Coffee Flavor: Rose, jasmine, navel orange, honey peach, lime, lemongrass, complex flavors, velvety texture

Brewing Analysis

Today, FrontStreet Coffee introduces commonly used methods for pour-over Geisha coffee: Three-Stage Method

Three-Stage Pouring Method

Segmented extraction: dividing one portion of water into three stages for pouring

Suitable for light roast, medium-light roast, and medium roast coffee beans

Use Kalita wave filter (cake cup)

Increase blooming time or number of pour breaks to enhance the richness of coffee flavor

Three-Stage Pouring Segmented Extraction Method

Advantages: More layered than single-pour methods, can clearly distinguish the front, middle, and back-end flavors of coffee. The method involves increasing water volume after blooming, typically pouring when the coffee liquid is about to drop to the surface level of the coffee bed, using small, medium, and large water flows for three-stage extraction.

Disadvantages: Requires higher control over water flow rate and volume.

FrontStreet Coffee [Geisha Coffee Pour-Over Parameter Recommendations]

The wave filter uses immersion extraction, increasing the contact surface area between coffee grounds and water. Compared to V60 brewing, it can enhance texture and make the coffee more viscous.

15g of coffee, water temperature 91-92°C, grind BG 5R (China standard 20-mesh sieve pass rate 64%), water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15-16

Technique: 27g water for blooming, blooming time 30s. The hot water in the pour-over kettle should be poured clockwise in circles centered in the middle of the filter. Start timing when brewing begins, pour to 27g, then stop pouring and wait for 30 seconds before the first pour.

For the first pour, pour in circles like before, but slightly slower. When reaching the outer circle, speed up a bit, and stop pouring around 1:15 seconds. When the liquid level drops by 1/3, pour again. For the second pour, concentrate on the center, avoiding hitting where the coffee grounds meet the filter paper to prevent channeling effects. End extraction around 2:05 seconds; the tail section can be omitted (the longer the time, the more astringency and rough texture will increase.

Segments: 30-125-230g

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