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World's Top Ten Famous Coffees: Geisha - Is Panama the Unquestionable Choice for the Best Geisha?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - Geisha Coffee Introduction: Geisha coffee beans traveled quietly from Geisha Mountain in southwestern Ethiopia to Kenya in 1931, making their way through Tanzania and Costa Rica, before being transplanted to Panama in the 1960s, where they endured for nearly half a century.

FrontStreet Coffee - Geisha Coffee Introduction

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Geisha coffee beans traveled from Geisha Mountain in southwestern Ethiopia to Kenya in 1931, then wandered through Tanzania and Costa Rica, before being transplanted to Panama in the 1960s. After nearly half a century, they finally made a stunning breakthrough, defeating perennial favorites like Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, and Typica to sweep first place in the Panama National Treasure Bean Cupping Competition in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Due to extremely low production, this bean can be said to be hard to come by.

In 2007, Geisha once again won the championship at the International Famous Bean Cupping Competition hosted by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). The bidding price reached $130 per pound, setting the highest price record for competition beans in history. Geisha green coffee beans have a beautiful blue-green color with a jade-like warm texture. They smell of fresh grass, peaches, berries, and possess the unique milky sweetness characteristic of oolong tea that most coffee beans lack.

Floral notes, tropical fruits, intense sweetness... these are the sensations that Geisha has consistently brought us. With proper roasting, they give you the feeling of sipping the fragrance of a bouquet of fresh flowers. The dry aroma of Geisha is very uplifting and bright, with characteristics of rose and jasmine, and can bring out pomelo and citrus aromas. Light roasts have nutty aromas; the wet aroma also has hazelnut flavors and reveals more floral characteristics.

In terms of flavor profile, the initial stage might seem relatively gentle and reserved compared to the previously bright aroma. As it cools slightly, the floral and fruit flavors gradually rise with the decreasing temperature. The cold aroma is exceptionally outstanding (sweet preserved fruit, rosehip, orange glaze, strawberry jam, hints of pine, cherry, vanilla, and rose flavors gradually fade, revealing lemon-like fruit notes). The reason Geisha coffee is so popular is that it scores over 90 points in the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) scoring system.

"It has incredible aromatics, almost like perfume, with notes of rose, jasmine, and bergamot," says Willem Boot. "The coffee's exquisite flavor and lingering aftertaste are unforgettable. You can taste lime, honey, and papaya, with deep, rich fruit flavors."

Since 2004, coffee from Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda has won 13 awards at various cupping competitions. At the 2013 Best of Panama coffee auction, Hacienda La Esmeralda's natural process coffee fetched a price of $350.25 per pound. These coffee beans are rare in quantity, have become super sought-after items, and are a must-try for coffee enthusiasts.

Panama's Geisha has won competition championships multiple times and has been auctioned at high prices on numerous occasions. Logically speaking, Panama's Geisha should indeed be the best. However, after all, everyone has their own preferences, and the best may not be liked by everyone. Currently, multiple countries are cultivating Geisha, with well-known producing countries like Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ethiopia all growing Geisha. It seems the pursuit of this famous variety will continue.

Knowledge Point: The Geisha variety actually comes from Ethiopia and is a direct descendant of Typica (coffee tree variety)!

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a research center dedicated to coffee, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation, only hoping to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Moreover, we hold three low-discount coffee activities every month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest price. This has also been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past 6 years!