Introduction to Geisha Coffee Bean Grades and Flavor Characteristics - Brewing Methods and Tasting Guide

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The Origin and History of Geisha Coffee

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

Both research institutes in Tanzania and Costa Rica recognized the variety's resistance to coffee leaf rust disease, but due to the fragility of the tree branches, it could not be widely propagated. Therefore, it was mainly used for variety cultivation and research, and was filed under the code T2722.

Geisha Coffee's Journey to Panama

In Panama, during the 1970s, Mr. Francisco Serracin of the Hacienda La Esmeralda obtained seeds from CATIE in Costa Rica and distributed them to other farms in the Panama region for cultivation. When they reached the Boquete region of Panama, they grew in high-altitude areas but did not attract much attention from local farmers.

Over the next 30 years, Geisha coffee continuously adapted its genes to suit the local terroir and climate, accidentally developing an enchanting and refined floral and fruit aroma. Around 2000, it was discovered by the owner of Hacienda La Esmeralda, and in 2004, it was entered separately into the BOP (Best of Panama) competition.

Impact on the Coffee Industry

Because its flavor was completely different from traditional coffee, its fresh taste amazed the coffee judges and brought high attention from the entire coffee industry to this coffee bean. To this day, Geisha coffee beans remain the first name that comes to mind when people talk about specialty coffee.

The emergence of Geisha coffee subverted the practice of only deep-roasting coffee, making everyone realize that as long as coffee beans are of high quality, light roasting can also deliver amazing results, while bringing fresher flavors and richer layers to the coffee.

Flavor Characteristics and Regional Variations

Although Geisha coffee beans can exhibit rich floral aromas, bright fruit acidity, honey-like sweetness, and floral tea-like aftertaste when roasted to light-medium levels, this does not mean that all Geisha coffee beans can display such flavors.

According to the roasting and brewing experience of FrontStreet Coffee, Geisha coffee beans grown in different regions will exhibit variations in their flavor profiles. For example, Geisha coffee beans grown in Costa Rica have less bright acidity than those from Panama and carry nutty and caramel flavors in taste, thus requiring medium roasting to enhance the coffee's body and bring out more sweetness.

Brewing Recommendations

Since Geisha coffee is mostly grown in high-altitude areas, its beans are relatively hard (high density), making the flavors less easy to extract. Therefore, when brewing light-medium roasted Geisha coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using: medium-fine grind size/powdered sugar (75-80% pass through a Chinese No. 20 standard sieve), paired with 90-91°C water temperature, using pour-over drip extraction.

FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha coffee bean brewing parameter recommendations: Dripper: V60 #01, Coffee dose: 15g, Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15, Brewing water temperature: 90-91°C, Grind size: medium-fine (80% pass through No. 20 standard sieve).

Three-Stage Pour-Over Technique

For brewing technique, a three-stage pour-over method is recommended: Start the timer, first pour 30g of water for blooming for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, begin the second small circular pour to 125g. When the coffee liquid level in the filter drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, start the third small circular pour to 225g, then stop pouring. When all the coffee liquid from the filter has flowed into the server, remove the filter and finish extraction. The total extraction time for Geisha coffee beans is typically between 2 minutes 10 seconds to 2 minutes 20 seconds.

Important Notice :

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