How Significant Are the Flavor Differences Between Light Roast and Medium Roast Geisha? What Roast Level Is Best for Geisha?

Most of the time, we notice that Geisha coffee beans are not roasted to a dark level. FrontStreet Coffee was curious about why this is the case. What would happen if we roasted Geisha a bit darker? So FrontStreet Coffee decided to experiment by roasting a batch of Geisha darker than our usual production to compare the differences between the two!

For this experiment, FrontStreet Coffee chose Panama La Esmeralda Green Label Geisha.

FrontStreet Coffee: La Esmeralda Green Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Country: Panama
Region: Boquete
Estate: La Esmeralda
Altitude: 1600-1800 meters
Processing Method: Washed
Variety: Geisha

Roasting Comparison

Our team roasted two different profiles - one following our regular production curve, and the other roasted slightly darker.

Profile One

Yellowing point at 5 minutes, first crack began at 8:30 seconds at 184.2°C, with 1:30 seconds of development before dropping at 193.5°C. SCAA roast color value: 66.2 (light-medium roast).

Profile Two

Yellowing point at 5 minutes, first crack began at 8:20 seconds at 182.5°C, with 3:20 seconds of development before dropping at 196.8°C. SCAA roast color value: 52.4 (medium-dark roast).

From the appearance of the roasted beans, we can see that the light roast has a more wrinkled surface with more silver skin, while the medium-dark roast appears rounder and smoother with relatively less silver skin.

Flavor Comparison

We conducted both cupping and pour-over brewing to see how the flavors would differ.

Cupping

Profile One: Bright citrus and lime acidity, with distinct jasmine and chamomile floral aromas, followed by cream and cane sugar sweetness with green tea notes in the finish.

Profile Two: Noticeably sweet, with flavors of caramel, chocolate, bergamot, and sweet orange.

Pour-over Brewing

Profile One

Parameters: 15g coffee, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 90°C water temperature, BG 5R grind size (58% retention on China standard #20 sieve), extraction time 1'55" (starting from bloom timing).

Technique: 35g water for 30-second bloom, small stream pour to 124g for分段. Wait for water level to drop just before exposing the coffee bed, then continue pouring to 225g. Remove the filter cone when water level drops just before exposing the coffee bed.

Distinct chamomile and jasmine floral aromas, bright fruit acidity. Initial taste reveals sweet-tart notes of lemon, citrus, and bergamot, followed by honey and maple sweetness in the mid-palate, finishing with fresh green tea aroma and lasting cane sugar aftertaste. Overall impression is refreshing and clean.

Profile Two

Parameters: 15g coffee, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 88°C water temperature, BG 5R grind size (58% retention on China standard #20 sieve), extraction time 1'50" (starting from bloom timing).

Technique: 34g water for 30-second bloom, small stream pour to 120g for分段. Wait for water level to drop just before exposing the coffee bed, then continue pouring to 227g. Remove the filter cone when water level drops just before exposing the coffee bed.

Initial taste reveals distinct caramel and chocolate sweetness with oolong tea aroma. As the temperature slightly decreases, subtle orange and bergamot gentle acidity can be detected in the finish. Overall mouthfeel is rich and smooth.

Conclusion

After comparing the two roast levels of Geisha, FrontStreet Coffee finds that the light roast Geisha has more pronounced aromatics and richer flavor layers, presenting an overall refreshing profile. The medium-dark roast Geisha, however, offers a richer mouthfeel with more noticeable sweetness and fruit acidity that tends toward gentleness.

Although the medium-dark roasted Geisha doesn't taste bad, the Geisha variety naturally possesses abundant floral and fruit aromas. When roasted darker with longer development time, many of Geisha's unique flavors can be diminished, resulting in a more balanced profile that emphasizes sweetness expression. Therefore, to preserve these unique floral and fruit aromas, FrontStreet Coffee chooses to shorten the development time, retaining more floral and fruit notes to showcase Geisha's characteristic flavors.

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473