What Variety is Geisha Coffee Bean? Does Geisha Belong to Arabica? Geisha Story and Characteristics

There are three main coffee varieties in the world, as many coffee enthusiasts know, and these are the most widely used coffee varieties globally, with Arabica being the most renowned. The Arabica variety originated in Ethiopia, and due to its excellent flavor and aroma, it has been transplanted to numerous coffee-producing countries worldwide, each developing its own unique characteristics.

Arabica was the first variety discovered and is considered the best among coffee varieties, currently being the world's primary variety. It is grown in various countries in Central and South America, Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia and Tanzania in Africa, Yemen, Indonesia, and other regions. Arabica plants typically grow between 2.5 to 4.5 meters tall, can tolerate low temperatures but not frost, and have poor drought resistance. The beans are larger, with excellent quality and fragrant flavor, possessing some acidity and slight bitterness, accounting for about 85% of world production. Arabica also has many sub-varieties, all derived from Ethiopia's oldest Typica and Yemen's Bourbon after being transplanted to Central and South America or Asia where they mutated; the varieties are numerous and too many to list. However, specialty coffee mainly refers to carefully cultivated high-altitude Arabica, so the varieties aren't as numerous.

Arabica has many sub-varieties, all derived from Ethiopia's oldest Typica and Yemen's Bourbon after being transplanted to Central and South America or Asia where they mutated; the varieties are numerous and too many to list. However, specialty coffee mainly refers to carefully cultivated high-altitude Arabica, so the varieties aren't as numerous. They can be roughly categorized as follows:

Typica

The oldest native variety from Ethiopia, all Arabica varieties derive from Typica. Typica plants have bronze-colored young leaves, and the beans are oval or slender and pointed; the flavor is elegant, but the plant has weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and low fruit yield. FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1, FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesia Sumatra Mandheling, FrontStreet Coffee's Hawaii Kona, and other excellent estate beans all belong to the Typica variety.

Bourbon

In the 18th century, missionaries brought the Bourbon variety from Yemen to Bourbon Island (now La Réunion), which began appearing in Latin America in the 19th century. Today, Bourbon varieties are commonly found in Latin America. Bourbon varieties have low productivity, are susceptible to pests and leaf rust, but have excellent flavor. Bourbon descendants include Catuai, Catimor, Mundo Novo, and others.

Geisha was discovered in Ethiopia, which naturally sparked the curiosity of many explorers seeking to find Geisha's roots. Willem Boot, founder of La Mula estate, and Joseph Brodsky, founder of Ninety Plus, both attempted this, but without particular success - such is the wonder of nature.

People around the world are growing Geisha coffee, but the flavor still doesn't match the astonishing quality of Panamanian Geisha, though it remains excellent coffee beans. It's believed that each coffee variety has optimal factors of temperature, soil, and climate, making it a daydream to easily replicate coffee's taste profile.

Geisha coffee, pronounced similarly to the Japanese word, is also known as "Geisha coffee." Geisha has been the star coffee variety in recent years, winning major awards in competitions, to the point that Panamanian coffee competitions are divided into "Geisha category" and "non-Geisha category." But in reality, it's a member of the Typica family and belongs to the Arabica coffee species. When Geisha coffee was introduced to Panama decades ago, it was originally used as windbreak for the estate until someone noticed its unique flavor, after which it became an overnight sensation.

Geisha coffee has rich, full sweetness and an extremely clean taste, with rich aromas extending from berries and citrus to mango, papaya, and peach. A very distinct bergamot-like aftertaste is also one of its typical cupping attributes. To date, Geisha has remained the champion among coffee varieties.

Geisha

A derivative variety of the Typica family, discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of southern Ethiopia, later transported to the Lyamungu Research Institute in Tanzania. It remained obscure in many countries until 1953 when it was brought to the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) and labeled as T2722. In the 1960s, it was identified as resistant to coffee leaf rust, so CATIE distributed and transplanted T2722 to Panama, where it began frequently winning cupping competitions starting in 2005.

Currently, the most famous Geisha producing region is in Panama's Boquete area, a small town located on the eastern foothills of Baru Volcano. In the Boquete region, the most renowned Geisha coffee growing estate is the famous Hacienda La Esmeralda, along with Elida Estate and Panama NPGE Estate. Although people around the world are growing Geisha coffee, even in Taiwan, China, the flavor still doesn't match the astonishing quality of Panama's.

Because Hacienda La Esmeralda is both the discoverer and promoter of Geisha coffee, it was the first brand that many Geisha coffee pioneers got to know, and La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee is considered the most classic Geisha coffee. FrontStreet Coffee offers three Geisha coffee beans from Hacienda La Esmeralda.

Before 2021, Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee was divided into three brands: Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label. However, in the first half of that year, Hacienda La Esmeralda announced the cancellation of the Blue Label brand. In the second half of the year, FrontStreet Coffee discovered a Geisha coffee named Las Rocas on the market. After rigorous investigation and cupping, FrontStreet Coffee confirmed that this Panama Las Rocas Geisha indeed comes from Hacienda La Esmeralda, with flavor highly similar to the previous Esmeralda Blue Label.

FrontStreet Coffee · Panama Las Rocas Geisha Coffee Beans
Region: Boquete, Panama
Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda
Altitude: 1500+ meters
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Washed

Esmeralda Red Label

Selected as the finest Geisha coffee beans by Hacienda La Esmeralda, chosen from Geisha coffee beans grown at altitudes between 1600 to 1800 meters, with cupping scores above 90 points. Those with in-depth knowledge should know that Esmeralda's Red Label Geisha is divided into auction and non-auction categories. In fact, whether for auction or not, Red Label Geisha comes from the same plots. FrontStreet Coffee believes that if you just want to taste Geisha coffee, you can start with Red Label. FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Esmeralda Red Label Geisha has very special and bright flavor, with intense white floral aroma and fruit fragrance.

FrontStreet Coffee · Panama Esmeralda Red Label Geisha Coffee Beans
Region: Boquete, Panama
Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda
Plot: Mario plot
Altitude: 1700+ meters
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Slow natural drying

Esmeralda Green Label

Selected from altitudes between 1600 to 1800 meters, not participating in auctions, consisting of micro-lot beans mixed from different plots. The difference from Esmeralda Red Label Geisha is: Esmeralda Red Label can be traced to specific plots, while Esmeralda Green Label, being a mixed bean model, cannot be traced to specific plots. FrontStreet Coffee found an interesting point: sometimes the flavor of Esmeralda Green Label Geisha is highly similar to Esmeralda Red Label, but other times there are slight differences, much like buying lottery tickets. Although Green Label Geisha is not as high-grade as Red Label Geisha, it still possesses classic Geisha flavor and offers good value for money.

FrontStreet Coffee · Panama Esmeralda Green Label Geisha Coffee Beans
Region: Boquete, Panama
Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda
Altitude: 1600-1800 meters
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Washed/Natural

When FrontStreet Coffee's roasters roast these three FrontStreet Coffee Panama Geisha coffees, considering the need to highlight Geisha coffee's pleasant acidity and special floral and fruit aromas, they adopt medium-light roasting. When FrontStreet Coffee's baristas brew them, to better extract Geisha's acidity and aroma, they use finer grinding and higher water temperature, avoiding over-extraction by using V60 drippers.

Dripper: Hario V60
Water temperature: 93°C
Coffee amount: 15 grams
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Grind size: 80% pass-through through #20 sieve

For the final brew to have rich layers, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a three-stage pouring method:

First, pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 30 seconds. Then, using a small water stream, slowly pour in a circular motion for the second stage until reaching 125g. When the water level in the dripper drops to 1/2, continue pouring the third stage until reaching 225g. Once all water has dripped through into the sharing pot, remove the dripper. Total extraction time is approximately 2 minutes.

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