【FrontStreet Coffee Bean Sourcing Journal】How to Distinguish Between Hacienda La Esmeralda's "Red Label", "Green Label", and "Blue Label"

[FrontStreet Coffee's Bean Sourcing Notes] How to Distinguish Between "Red Label," "Green Label," and "Blue Label" from La Esmeralda?

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Recently, FrontStreet Coffee has acquired quite a lot of Geisha beans. A couple of days ago, our editor compared the differences between Geisha Village's Gold Label, Red Label, and CHAKA. This time, let's follow the editor to distinguish between La Esmeralda's Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label!

Panama La Esmeralda

After participating in the 2004 Panama Coffee Bean Cupping Competition and becoming an overnight sensation, it won the Panama Coffee Cupping Competition championship for multiple consecutive years.

In 1964, Swedish-American financier Rudolph A. Peterson retired, moved to Panama, and purchased Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, focusing primarily on dairy operations. Having previously served as President of Bank of America, he was a prominent figure in the financial circles of his time. Rudolph purchased Hacienda La Esmeralda mainly for vacation and later retirement use, likely never anticipating that this estate would become world-famous and even representative of Panama's premium coffee estates.

In 1973, his son Price Peterson earned a PhD in neurochemistry in the United States but returned to Boquete to assist his father in managing the farm. After taking over, Price segmented the market into three major brands for sales based on altitude, microclimate, cupping performance, and cultivation varieties (Esmeralda Special, Diamond Mountain grows, Palmyra). In 2012, Geisha was added, becoming the fourth major brand.

La Esmeralda Estate includes 4 farms: Cañas Verdes, El Velo, Jaramillo, and Palmira. All coffee beans are sent to these 4 farms for post-processing. The first farm purchased by the Peterson family was Palmira.

La Esmeralda "Red Label," "Green Label," "Blue Label"

After years of experimentation, La Esmeralda Estate discovered that only Geisha beans harvested from coffee trees growing at altitudes above 1,400 meters can showcase the distinctive flavors that Geisha beans should have. Therefore, the main grading is primarily based on planting altitude, supplemented by actual cupping results, dividing Geisha beans into "Red, Green, Blue Label" grades.

Red Label [Auction Batch]

⇒ Planting altitude: 1,600-1,800 meters

⇒ Cupping score: 90 points or above

⇒ Mainly produced from Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes estates, also the highest quality Geisha beans

⇒ Geisha beans harvested from the highest elevations of the Boquete mountains, possessing special, bright floral aromas and citrus fragrances

⇒ Coffee at this grade will be processed into natural or washed green beans, with yeast processing method added in 2018

⇒ Can only be purchased through annual global auction events

Roasting Curve

(Roasting amount: 300 grams)

Entry temperature 170°C, yellowing point at 4'40", first crack begins at 8'12" at 182°C, first crack development for 1'30" before discharge at 189°C.

Agtron bean color value 73.5 (left image), Agtron ground color value 89.4 (right image), Roast Delta value is 15.9.

Green Label [Reserve Batch]

⇒ Planting altitude: 1,600-1,800 meters

⇒ Micro-batch coffee beans from three different estates: Jaramillo, Quiel, and Cañas Verdes

⇒ Although not the highest grade auction beans, this grade of Geisha still carries the classic flavors of Geisha coffee beans: floral, fruity, citrus acidity, thick and juicy mouthfeel

⇒ Carefully selected perfectly ripe coffee fruits create rich sweetness, bright fruit acidity, and delicious flavors

⇒ This grade of Geisha beans also has washed or natural processed green beans to choose from

Roasting Curve

(Roasting amount: 300 grams)

Entry temperature 170°C, yellowing point at 4'35", first crack begins at 8'00" at 181°C, first crack development for 1'30" before discharge at 193.5°C.

Agtron bean color value 69.3 (left image), Agtron ground color value 84.6 (right image), Roast Delta value is 15.3.

Blue Label [Select Batch]

⇒ Planting altitude: 1,500 meters

⇒ Mixed beans from three different estates: Jaramillo, Cañas Verdes, and El Velo

⇒ Slight floral aroma, fruit acidity, sweetness; mouthfeel relatively less full-bodied compared to Red Label, clean and refreshing

⇒ This grade of Geisha beans only has washed processed green beans

Roasting Curve

(Roasting amount: 300 grams)

Entry temperature 170°C, yellowing point at 4'55", first crack begins at 7'48" at 180.5°C, first crack development for 1'30" before discharge at 190°C.

Agtron bean color value 83.6 (upper image), Agtron ground color value 93.8 (lower image), Roast Delta value is 10.2.

| Flavor Comparison

Cupping:

1. Flavor descriptions vary by individual and are influenced by water temperature and brewing methods. This cupping report provides descriptions limited by the flavor wheel under the same brewing equipment and parameters, intended for reference purposes only;

2. Content will be promptly corrected based on new information, with the latest updates prevailing;

Pour-over:

FrontStreet Coffee's editor tried brewing one pot of each using pour-over method~~ choosing V60 dripper, powder-to-water ratio 1:15, water temperature 90°C, grinding level BG-5R (Chinese standard #20 sieve pass rate 58%), extracted in segments.

[Red Label] Has bright rose and citrus aromas, brown rice, berries, apricot, complex fruits, honey, with a thick juice-like mouthfeel, rich flavor layers, and prominent sweetness.

[Green Label] Rich jasmine flower aroma upon entry, high sweetness, citrus, berries, juice-like mouthfeel, cream, green tea, orange peel, cantaloupe, overall rich flavor layers, with floral and citrus notes in the aftertaste.

[Blue Label] Entry has gentle sour notes of lemon and grapefruit, as temperature slightly decreases reveals oolong tea, honey, and sugarcane sweet aftertaste, with a relatively clean and bright mouthfeel.

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