Do You Know What Geisha Is? Introduction to Chacarero Estate Geisha Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to the Geisha Coffee Variety

The Geisha variety was first discovered in 1931 in the Gesha forest of Ethiopia and was later sent to a coffee research institute in Kenya. In 1936 it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania, and in 1953 Costa Rica began cultivating it.

For a long time, few people paid attention to Geisha. That changed when Don Pachi brought Geisha from the small town of GESHA in southwestern Ethiopia to Costa Rica, from where it traveled along the southern route into Panama. When Panama's Esmeralda Estate separated it from the estate's other varieties and won the national coffee competition championship, Geisha was finally in the spotlight.

As early as 1904, during the initial construction of the Panama Canal, large numbers of European engineers and senior managers were hired to work in the heat of Panama City. After the canal was completed in 1917, these highly educated professionals — especially those from Northern Europe — fell in love with Boquete. With its cool, spring-like year-round climate, many stayed on, bought farms, retired there, and enjoyed life surrounded by misty clouds.

Today, the most famous Geisha growing region is Boquete, Panama, a small town on the eastern foothills of the Barú Volcano. Boquete's most renowned Geisha estates include the famous Hacienda La Esmeralda, Elida Estate, and Panama's NPGE Estate.

In 2007, documentary director Adam Overton and his photographer wife Rachel Samuel, while filming a documentary about Ethiopian coffee for the Ethiopian government, came into contact with the Gera coffee forest in the Bench-Maji region. Along the way they not only rediscovered this great land of Ethiopia but also conceived the idea of founding their own coffee estate and brand.

In 2009, they had the good fortune to meet Willem Boot, the well-known owner of the Don Pachi Estate and a Best of Panama judge. Boot's ideas gave the Overtons their opening: return to Ethiopia and find the birthplace of Geisha.

They eventually arrived in Bench-Maji, an area of southwestern Ethiopia near the South Sudanese border, where many places bear the name Gesha Village — making it the most likely home of the original Geisha. When they arrived in 2011, there was nothing on the land yet.

Adam followed Willem Boot on an "adventure" through the forests surrounding the estate. In jungle thick with ancient trees, they found all manner of wild species — and the most thrilling discovery of all was wild Geisha. They later learned this was the Gori Gesha forest, where the variety was first found. They collected seeds from the original Geisha trees, screened them, and planted them there, establishing the Gesha Village Coffee Estate — a 475-hectare farm located about 12 miles from the Gori Gesha forest.

Starting from 2011, they gradually expanded the planted area; by 2017 it reached approximately 320 hectares.

Willem Boot later came to Gesha Village as technical advisor. They discovered samples in an original forest near the estate, known locally as Gori Gesha, that closely resembled the original Geisha stock cultivated at the Don Pachi Estate.

Both the Overtons and Willem Boot believed they had found Geisha's origin, and the subsequent breeding and cultivation work gradually confirmed that hypothesis.

At the 2017 Japan Barista Championship, Takayuki Ishitani used Gesha Village beans to win the title — never mind the estate's excellent showings on international auction cupping tables.

Alongside its two main commercial processing methods, Gesha Village keeps experimenting with others, including dry fermentation, wet fermentation, and various honey processes. Across all of its coffees, floral aroma and intense tropical-fruit sweetness remain the consistent signatures of Geisha.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you want to taste the legend, FrontStreet carries the iconic Panamanian lots: Hacienda La Esmeralda's Red Label ("Esmeralda Special"), grown at 1,600–1,800 meters and cupping above 90 points, with each numbered batch drawn from a single plot such as Jaramillo; and the more affordable Green Label ("Private Collection"), which blends lots across plots to express the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha profile. Beginners can start with the FrontStreet Boquete Gesha, an entry-level Panamanian Geisha offering the classic orange-blossom honeyed character, oolong-tea texture, and delicate fruity acidity at a friendlier price. For brewing, FrontStreet suggests a medium grind (about 78% passing a #20 sieve), 91°C water, 15g of coffee in a small Hario V60 at a 1:16 ratio, built in three stages: 30g bloom for 30 seconds, then pours to 125g and 225g, finishing in roughly 2:10–2:20.

Ethiopia, Geisha's birthplace, offers its own interpretation. FrontStreet's Gesha Village Gold Label (Gesha 1931 variety, about 10% of the estate's output, a refined natural) and Red Label (Gori Gesha, about 15% of output, scoring 88+ on the SCA 100-point scale, with full traceability for every batch) are must-try lots for advanced brewers. The entry-level FrontStreet Granja Gesha — fully ripe cherries hand-picked and sun-dried on raised beds for 14–20 days, then medium-light roasted — shows bright citrus acidity, elegant ginger-flower aroma, and the full sweetness of ripe fruit with Geisha's signature delicate finish. Geisha also works as a SOE: FrontStreet's medium-roast Granja Gesha SOE pulls shots of apricot, caramel, and nuts, or — diluted 1:5 with 200g of hot water — an americano of orange, nuts, and blueberry; with 200g of milk it becomes a creamy cookie latte.