What Are the Flavor Characteristics of Geisha Coffee, the Mainstream of Specialty Coffee?

Today, in the world of specialty coffee, Gesha is undoubtedly one of the most well-known and expensive varieties. Even those who don't drink coffee often have heard of the great reputation of "Gesha." The globally popular Gesha coffee is renowned for presenting rich and elegant floral aromas, citrus, peach, and complex fruit acidity in the cup, with a creamy smooth mouthfeel and a sweet oolong tea aftertaste. Its exquisite flavor characteristics make people feel like they're tasting a fragrant fruit tea rather than drinking coffee.

Many newcomers looking to purchase Gesha coffee have provided feedback to FrontStreet Coffee, worried that they might "ruin" the coffee after getting the beans and fail to present its characteristic flavors. Don't worry - follow FrontStreet Coffee to first understand the characteristics of Gesha coffee beans, and then study how to brew that "Gesha flavor."

What kind of variety is Gesha?

Gesha seedlings were first discovered and collected in the wild forests of southwestern Ethiopia. At that time, the purpose of collection was to find new disease-resistant varieties, named after the nearby Geisha Mountain. In 1954, it was brought to Costa Rica and recorded as T2722. In the 1950s and 60s, it was trial-planted in many coffee farms throughout Central and South America, but was not widely cultivated due to its low yield and fragile plant defects. It wasn't until 2003 that it was discovered by the Peterson family of Hacienda La Esmeralda, and after winning the 2004 Best of Panama competition, it ushered in the Panamanian Gesha era.

Gesha is very particular about its growing environment, requiring high altitude, fertile soil, cloud cover or plant shade, and cannot be directly exposed to intense sunlight. The owner of Hacienda La Esmeralda has said that the estate needs numerous shade trees to protect the delicate Gesha from sunlight, and traditional pruning methods must be used during the initial planting period, otherwise the plants are prone to death. Gesha planted at higher altitudes has longer coffee bean maturation times and more complex and unique flavor expressions.

Unlike other coffee varieties, Gesha coffee trees have a very thin leaf system, meaning photosynthesis efficiency is low. The root system is also fragile, with slow absorption of water and nutrients, resulting in very low coffee yields. Combined with high-altitude growing conditions, fruit maturation is also relatively late. The yield of one Gesha coffee tree is only half that of the Caturra variety, which is one of the reasons why Gesha is so precious.

Since Gesha became famous, coffee farmers around the world have rushed to plant this variety, not just in Central and South America. However, each producing region has unique terroir, and different terroirs affect the quality and flavor of coffee, so Gesha also shows its own flavor characteristics. FrontStreet Coffee believes the most representative ones are still Gesha's birthplace - Ethiopia, and the place where Gesha became famous - Panama.

What flavor characteristics do Gesha from different regions exhibit?

Panama has only three main coffee-producing regions: Boquete, Volcan, and Renacimiento, yet produces the world's most expensive coffee. The Boquete region is one of the towns in Chiriquí Province, located on the eastern side of Barú Volcano at an altitude of approximately 1,000-2,000 meters on a plateau. It faces the warm, humid Caribbean monsoon winds while being backed by the cold Atlantic current. The mountains are high and steep, with "Barú Volcano National Park" serving as an ecological conservation area with rich biodiversity and seven microclimates. Combined with year-round mist and abundant rainfall, this creates excellent local growing conditions. FrontStreet Coffee's Panamanian Hacienda La Esmeralda and Elida Estate Gesha coffees come from the Boquete region.

After Gesha won championship rankings, the Peterson siblings implemented more systematic management of the estate's Gesha coffee trees based on altitude, region, and cupping performance. The Gesha cultivation area was divided into three major sections: Cañas Verdes, Jaramillo, and El Velo. To ensure traceability of each coffee batch, the Petersons refined each major section into different small plots, allowing buyers who purchase Gesha coffee to access specific planting plot information through batch records.

Gesha was initially discovered in the Jaramillo section, where the Peterson siblings decided to increase the planting altitude for Gesha, making Jaramillo the most famous section of Hacienda La Esmeralda as both the discovery and cultivation site. Jaramillo has an average altitude of over 1,650 meters, where the cool, humid mountain air allows Gesha coffee here to be rich in natural essence. FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Red Label comes from the Mario plot in Jaramillo, using natural processing and presenting intoxicating aromas of rose, citrus, berries, and honey.

FrontStreet Coffee: Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Gesha Coffee Beans

Region: Boquete Region
Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda, Cañas Verdes
Altitude: 1700+ meters
Variety: Gesha
Processing: Natural processing
Flavor: Lemon, honey, berries, orange peel, mango, cream, citrus

Returning to the birthplace of the Gesha variety, Ethiopian planting altitudes are generally between 1,900-2,000 meters, with ultra-high altitudes being more conducive to the accumulation of sugar substances inside coffee cherries. FrontStreet Coffee believes that compared to Panamanian Gesha, Ethiopian Gesha predominantly features yellow stone fruit flavors as the main tone, reminiscent of yellow peaches, with medium to high sweetness, and better-performing batches even show toffee characteristics.

Ethiopia's most representative Gesha coffee comes from Gesha Village Estate. The Gesha varieties here differ from those in Panama - Gesha Village has three Gesha varieties: Gori Gesha, Gesha 1931, and Illubabor Forest. Gori Gesha and Gesha 1931 are related to the Panamanian Gesha variety but are not identical varieties, with Gesha 1931 showing characteristics very similar to Panamanian Gesha, while Illubabor is a disease-resistant variety provided by the Ethiopian research institute. To ensure the quality of Gesha coffee produced by Gesha Village Estate, owner Adam established a strict grading system, dividing Gesha into different levels: Auction, Gold Label, Red Label, Green Label, and CHAKA.

Gesha Village auction batches are the top-tier batches, obtainable only through buyer bidding. FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Red Label also has complete traceability information, accounting for 15% of the annual total production, with high-quality Gesha coffee scoring 88 points or above according to SCA cupping standards. The natural-processed Gesha Village Red Label not only has the characteristic complex fruit, honey, and floral notes of classic Gesha but also adds the bright, uplifted acidity typical of African coffees. FrontStreet Coffee considers this a Gesha batch with excellent value for money, worthy of purchase by Gesha enthusiasts.

FrontStreet Coffee: Gesha Village Estate Red Label Gesha Coffee Beans

Region: Banchi Maji Zone, Ethiopia
Estate: Gesha Village Estate, Shewa-Jababa plot
Altitude: 1973-2069 meters
Variety: Gori Gesha
Processing: Natural processing
Flavor: Lemon, plum, citrus, tropical fruits, floral tea

How to brew Gesha's flavor characteristics?

At FrontStreet Coffee, there are many choices just for the Gesha variety alone. Here, FrontStreet Coffee has selected two of the most popular options: natural-processed Esmeralda Red Label Gesha and natural-processed Gesha Village Red Label Gesha. Using the parameters for daily store production, let me explain FrontStreet Coffee's extraction approach!

FrontStreet Coffee's flavor descriptions for each coffee are based on freshly roasted beans. If coffee beans have been stored for more than a month, some aroma may have been lost, making it difficult to reproduce the original flavors during brewing. FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands the importance of freshness and therefore ensures only coffee beans roasted within 5 days are shipped, so everyone can enjoy the complete optimal tasting period upon receipt.

Gesha coffee is famous worldwide for its rich floral aromas and complex fruit notes. FrontStreet Coffee's roasters hope to preserve more of Gesha's fine acidity, so they choose light to medium roast levels (with slight adjustments for different batches). This roast level doesn't significantly change the high hardness of high-altitude beans, so brewing requires a higher extraction rate to present fuller flavor layers. This involves using higher water temperature and slightly finer grind to extract more aromatic compounds. Additionally, FrontStreet Coffee wants clearer flavor expression in Gesha coffee, so we'll increase the coffee-to-water ratio to 1:16.

To increase Gesha coffee extraction rate while avoiding over-extraction and highlighting the sweet and sour flavor layers, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas use the V60 dripper. The V60 dripper features flow ribs connecting the top and bottom and a large central hole that accelerates water flow downward, while the spiral-shaped exhaust channel design lengthens the water path, increasing contact time between coffee grounds and hot water. Each water stream converges along the grooves to the center point of the dripper, concentrating pressure on the coffee grounds and resulting in richer layered extraction.

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will demonstrate the brewing steps for Esmeralda Red Label natural Gesha as served in the store. Everyone can reference and compare with their own brewing approach.

The parameters for hand-pouring Red Label Gesha coffee are: Dripper: V60, Water temperature: 91-92°C, Coffee amount: 15g, Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:16, Grind size: Fine sugar size (20-mesh sieve screen to 80%)

Three-stage extraction: First, pour 15g of coffee powder into the dripper and reset the weight to zero. For the first stage, inject 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, starting the timer simultaneously. Use a small water stream to pour from the center point outward in circles, ensuring the entire coffee bed is moistened.

For the second stage, use a slightly larger water stream to inject 120g of water, aiming to raise the entire coffee bed. The water column needs to be poured vertically and evenly, with the timer scale showing 150g, completed around 55 seconds.

When the liquid level drops to about halfway, start using a small water stream in small circles to inject the third stage of 90g. Try to control the water stream to not be too large, as it can easily scatter the coffee bed and cause under-extraction. The total final water amount is 240g, with completion time around 2 minutes and 10 seconds. After removing the dripper, shake the coffee liquid in the serving pot evenly before tasting.

Hand-poured Esmeralda Red Label Gesha coffee tastes of fresh jasmine, citrus, and tropical fruit acidity, with flavor layers changing as temperature varies. The overall mouthfeel is smooth, with a pleasant tea-like aftertaste.

Hand-poured Gesha Village Red Label Gori Gesha presents notes of tropical fruits, bergamot, and lemon, with creamy sweetness and fermented undertones. As the temperature cools slightly, jasmine floral aromas gradually emerge.

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