How does Panama Esmeralda Estate Geisha Green Label Iced Drip Coffee Taste? Panama Green Label Geisha Grade

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When it comes to Geisha coffee, many people have likely heard of it. Beyond its delicate aroma, what people discuss most are its expensive price and various brewing methods that make it so enjoyable. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will explain the reasons behind this coffee's high cost and how it's prepared.

What is Geisha?

Unlike place-named coffees we've heard before, such as Yirgacheffe, Blue Mountain, or Kona, Geisha is actually one of the branches within the large Arabica family. It has left countless people impressed and fascinated with its rich and elegant floral notes, citrus, and complex fruit flavors.

On FrontStreet Coffee's bean list, there are about 10 different Geisha coffee selections. If you're trying Geisha for the first time, FrontStreet Coffee would first recommend either the natural Red Label or washed Green Label from Hacienda La Esmeralda. The so-called Red Label is Esmeralda Special, which is the highest grade of Geisha at the estate, priced at 350 yuan per 100g, with a pour-over coffee costing 75 yuan. The Green Label refers to the second-highest Geisha grade, originally named Private Collection, with coffee beans priced at 168 yuan per 100g, corresponding to a 60 yuan pour-over coffee.

Why is Geisha expensive?

FrontStreet Coffee understands that Geisha was discovered in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia in 1931. It was later sent to a coffee research institute in Kenya. During this period, the Geisha variety was also introduced to Uganda and Tanzania. In 1953, Costa Rica also introduced Geisha, and it wasn't until the 1970s that Geisha seeds finally took root in Panama. We can say that the Geisha coffee we drink today is quite precious and hard to come by.

As the saying goes, rarity makes things precious. The production of Geisha coffee is extremely scarce. Panama's annual coffee production is about 10,000 tons, while the renowned Hacienda La Esmeralda produces only 150 bags of green beans annually, about 9,000 kilograms. Calculating with Geisha accounting for only 3% of production, that's only 270 kilograms. Coupled with various media outlets promoting and highlighting Geisha's flavors, people's enthusiasm for Geisha has only continued to grow, naturally keeping Geisha coffee prices high.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that much of Geisha coffee's tremendous reputation today can be attributed to Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. The third-generation estate owner of Hacienda La Esmeralda, Daniel, stated that the "discovery" of the Geisha variety came after several years of comparison and testing, finally locking in this variety in 2003. Two weeks before the 2003 Best of Panama (BOP) competition, when selecting competition batches on the internal cupping table, they discovered that the Geisha variety possessed outstanding flavors of jasmine, citrus, peach, blueberry, bergamot, and sugarcane. Although these flavors differed from what coffee圈内 people at the time preferred, Daniel still chose to enter the Geisha variety in the competition and won first place.

In 2005, Hacienda La Esmeralda entered Geisha in the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) competition, defeating many star contenders and winning the honor of world-class specialty coffee. It swept the world championships in 2006 and 2007, once again attracting attention from coffee people worldwide. Since then, coffee growing regions around the world have begun competing to introduce Geisha, including our country's Yunnan province, which has also started planting this popular variety. Although Geisha can now be produced worldwide, FrontStreet Coffee believes that as the discoverer of Geisha's flavor profile, Hacienda La Esmeralda not only strictly controls the quality of its produced coffee but also uses natural processing methods that best present the classic "Geisha flavor."

How to drink Green Label Geisha?

As a Geisha batch that doesn't participate in auctions but has excellent quality, the Green Label is harvested from a mix of Geisha beans from different plots in the two main estates at elevations between 1600-1800 meters. With its classic citrus and honey notes, it has become the preferred choice for many Geisha enthusiasts who are "budget-conscious." Starting from 2022, Hacienda La Esmeralda has also begun to specify the larger plot information for this grade of Geisha batches, namely whether they come from Jaramillo, Canas Verdes, or El Velo.

According to information disclosed on Hacienda La Esmeralda's official website, Green Label Geisha from different plots will exhibit unique main flavor directions due to terroir differences. Green Label from the Jaramillo plot carries strong jasmine and rose notes; Green Label from Canas Verdes has richer tropical fruit flavors; while Green Label from El Velo estate displays lemongrass and floral aromas. FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Green Label uses washed processing. Whether it's the dry fragrance after grinding, during the brewing process, or in the taste, it all expresses a delicate floral and fruit tone. Below, FrontStreet Coffee will extract this coffee bean using cold drip method.

Is Panama Geisha delicious when made as cold drip?

Brewing parameters: Coffee amount 60g, coffee-to-liquid ratio 1:10, water-to-ice ratio 1:1, total coffee liquid 600ml, grind size slightly finer than granulated sugar

Cold Drip Making Method Illustration

First, place a filter paper at the bottom of the coffee grounds container, wet it with water, then press it firmly with a stirring rod to make it fit better. Then put the freshly ground coffee powder into the grounds container, shake to level the powder surface, and place another filter paper on top of the powder, then place it in the stand. Put the proportional ice cubes and water in the water container, stir to mix. Adjust the control valve to let the water flow quickly moisten all the coffee powder first, similar to blooming. After fully moistening, adjust the control valve again to control the water drops between 5-7 drops per 10 seconds, then wait for the coffee liquid to finish dripping. After the coffee liquid has finished dripping, put it in a sealed bottle and ferment in the refrigerator for 2 days before drinking.

This Esmeralda Green Label Geisha cold drip coffee has white floral notes, orange, blueberry, and green tea flavors. The mouthfeel is delicate and light, clean without any off-flavors. With the addition of ice, it's even more refreshing and smooth, absolutely deserving to be called a summer delicacy.

However, FrontStreet Coffee still wants to remind all friends who like iced coffee that for flavor experience and health safety considerations, whether it's cold drip or cold brew, for any extraction method performed in low-temperature environments, FrontStreet Coffee recommends that everyone drink it within 5 days (counting from the production date).

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