Where is Geisha Coffee Most Famous and Best Tasting? Can Panamanian Geisha Coffee Beans Be Used for Espresso?

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When asked where the best Geisha comes from, the answer is undoubtedly Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha coffee. Panama's climate has shaped Geisha coffee, and Panama coffee has become famous because of Geisha coffee. Panama's Geisha is the best and differs from the Geisha of its origin. Although Geisha is a single-origin bean, it can also be used to make espresso coffee. This is called SOE (Single Origin Espresso), meaning espresso made from single-origin coffee beans. This type of coffee is typically made from high-quality single-origin coffee beans, is more expensive than regular espresso, and can showcase the regional flavors of different origins.

"Panama coffee has a very special flavor, which may be because it lies between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and is the result of very special climate and conditions. Geisha Panama coffee is well-known, which is why I came here looking for this special coffee flavor," said Jung Jung Lee, CEO of Maristela Roasting & Coffee Lab.

Geisha Coffee

Geisha, also known as Geisha, is a rare coffee variety that only performs exceptionally well under very specific conditions. It was discovered in a Kaffa forest in Ethiopia. First discovered in the 1930s growing wild near the town of Gesha. Geisha coffee originates from Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee and the genetic kingdom of coffee, with numerous varieties, which is why many Ethiopian coffee beans are directly labeled as "heirloom varieties."

The Geisha variety was discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia. Geisha didn't receive much attention locally and was directly used as a windbreak forest until Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama. Later, Geisha was sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya, introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936, Costa Rica in 1953, and Panama in 1970. Finally, Hacienda La Esmeralda separated it from other varieties and entered it into competitions, becoming the BOP competition champion in 2004. It shot to fame, bringing Geisha into everyone's view and making it a standout in specialty coffee.

Although Panama Geisha coffee beans were introduced and cultivated from Ethiopia, they differ from Ethiopian Geisha varieties and flavors. Although the Geisha variety's flavor is exquisite, this elegant flavor comes from specific growing conditions. The Geisha variety is very particular about its growing environment, requiring high-altitude areas with cloud cover or extensive shade tree protection and fertile soil. High-altitude Geisha variety coffee exhibits distinct floral notes and refined, elegant fruit acidity, making Panama's growing environment an important reason for Geisha coffee's fame and one of the reasons for its global popularity.

Since Panama Geisha coffee became famous, many places around the world have begun researching and cultivating Geisha variety coffee, including multiple estates in Panama itself. The Geisha coffee beans that FrontStreet Coffee has sourced include not only those from Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama but also from Colombia, Costa Rica, and of course, Ethiopian Geisha is essential—FrontStreet Coffee has over a dozen single Ethiopian coffee beans, plus more than 50 single-origin beans from around the world.

Panama Coffee Regions

Panama's terrain is undulating with crisscrossing valleys. Apart from the coastal plains in the north and south, most of the country is mountainous. Located near the equator, it has a tropical marine climate with humid days and cool nights, with an average annual temperature of 23-27 degrees Celsius. The year is divided into dry and rainy seasons, with average annual precipitation of 1500-2500mm. High-quality Panama coffee is mainly grown in northwestern Panama, near Costa Rica and close to the Pacific. Coffee produced in the Chiriqui province's Boquete coffee region is particularly famous.

Boquete Coffee Region

Boquete is cultivated at altitudes as high as 1,400-1,900m, located near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the famous Baru Volcano. With its beautiful scenery, rich and fertile soil, the climate and soil are perfect for producing high-quality coffee. Within the Boquete region are distributed many excellent estates. Besides Hacienda La Esmeralda, estates like Elida Estate and Kotowa Duncan Estate also produce high-quality specialty coffee. This is not only due to the mild climate conditions of Panama's Boquete region and the fertile volcanic ash soil of Baru Volcano. Another important factor is the varied microclimates found in the highlands of Boquete, Panama.

The washed Boquete Geisha coffee from the Boquete region is included in FrontStreet Coffee's daily selection beans as a representative of Panama's Geisha coffee.

Hacienda La Esmeralda

The reason why Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha became world-famous coffee came from a coincidence. retired Swedish-American banker Rudolph A. Peterson bought Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama to spend his later years, unexpectedly achieving success where coffee trees on the estate bore fruit, which he casually sent to participate in coffee competitions, achieving instant fame by winning the national championship at the 2004 Panama Specialty Coffee Competition. Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha can be said to be the most famous Geisha. Since 2005, Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha has won more than a dozen various world coffee competition championships. Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha is generally divided into 3 levels: Red Label, Blue Label, and Green Label. The top tier - Red Label [Auction batches].

Can Panama Geisha Coffee Be Used for Espresso?

We know that coffee beans for making espresso are mainly blended beans or dark-roasted beans, as this produces espresso with rich crema and better flavor. If lightly roasted coffee beans are used for espresso, the taste might be more prominent, stimulating, and sharply acidic. Although SOE (Single Origin Espresso) is very popular now and can be made from single-origin specialty coffee beans, the roasting requirements for the beans are relatively deeper compared to pour-over to taste better. So can Geisha coffee be used for espresso? Actually, FrontStreet Coffee believes that Geisha coffee beans can be used to make espresso, but for such expensive specialty coffee, FrontStreet Coffee prefers to brew it using pour-over methods to better showcase Geisha coffee's unique characteristics. For example, Blue Mountain coffee is the same—FrontStreet Coffee also primarily uses pour-over brewing.

For Geisha coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's stores only serve Geisha coffee using pour-over methods.

What is Geisha? Geisha is just a coffee variety, while espresso is just one way of presenting coffee. Geisha coffee can be enjoyed through different brewing methods: it can be made into espresso with a semi-automatic espresso machine, brewed with a dripper, made with a moka pot, or brewed with a drip coffee maker.

The advantage of Geisha coffee lies in its more distinct flavors. For example, the Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Washed Geisha in FrontStreet Coffee's bean list shows several obvious flavors when brewed: floral, citrus, nuts, and tea. What about Hacienda La Esmeralda Natural Geisha? Tropical fruit and floral notes are all detectable.

Why doesn't FrontStreet Coffee use Geisha coffee for espresso? The first reason is that we haven't calibrated Geisha coffee's espresso yet. How can we serve a product to customers that hasn't been adjusted and tested? Even for the Nuanyang Blend coffee beans we use every day, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas must make adjustments based on the bean's condition before opening for business each day. Besides espresso parameters, using Geisha coffee to make Americano requires readjusting the ratio of espresso to water, and making milk coffee requires readjusting the ratio of espresso to milk.

The second reason is considering from a product perspective: is Geisha coffee suitable as daily service? Obviously, this isn't practical. Besides higher costs, not choosing Geisha coffee for espresso is actually the same reason why FrontStreet Coffee chooses blended coffee rather than single-origin espresso for serving espresso.

What should be achieved when using Geisha coffee for espresso? To highlight Geisha coffee's flavor, the roast level cannot be too deep. For example, competition participants typically roast Geisha to a very light level, then use large doses of coffee grounds during extraction. What challenges do lighter roast levels present for store service? It's more difficult to maintain consistency in service.

The third reason is considering the performance of the Geisha variety. Just now we shared that the advantage of Geisha coffee lies in its sufficiently distinct flavors, but the Geisha variety also has disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage of Geisha coffee as espresso is insufficient richness and body. At the same time, if it's washed processed Geisha coffee, the sweetness is also insufficient.

This is also why FrontStreet Coffee chooses blends as store espresso beans. Blending is actually far more complex than imagined. When FrontStreet Coffee's roaster designed the Nuanyang Blend in 2019, they had already tried using Sherry coffee beans as a Single Origin Espresso SOE solution, but found it lacked complexity, then added Yirgacheffe for experimentation, and finally determined the ratio of 60% Sherry barrel coffee beans and 40% Natural Yirgacheffe after repeated testing.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations:

Whether making espresso or pour-over coffee, FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans greatly affects coffee flavor. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee ships coffee beans roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring that every customer who orders receives the freshest coffee when it arrives. The coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it's at peak flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee would like to kindly remind you: if coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need for a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide inside the packaging can also help the coffee flavor become well-rounded, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the coffee grounds. However, coffee grounds need to be brewed promptly because they oxidize quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee flavor will dissipate more quickly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better enjoy the coffee's flavor.

Important Notice :

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