Where Do Arabica Coffee Beans Taste Best? Is Geisha an Arabica? Understanding Its Past and Present

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Geisha Coffee Bean Varieties

First, Geisha is a variety of coffee bean.

The earliest Geisha seeds were discovered in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia in 1931 and later sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya. In 1936, they were introduced to Uganda and Tanzania, then in 1953 traveled across the ocean to Costa Rica, and later arrived at its neighbor—well, Panama. Through Hacienda La Esmeralda, it was separated from other varieties and entered the National Coffee Competition, where it won first place and became famous overnight. One might add that Geisha became renowned worldwide from that moment.

Geisha has a full sweetness, an extremely clean taste, and rich aromas that extend from berries and citrus to mango, papaya, and peach flavors. A very distinct bergamot-like aftertaste is also its typical cupping attribute. To date, Geisha has remained the champion among coffee varieties. [Cupping evaluation] Moderate body, sweet, multi-layered tropical fruit flavors, rose-like aroma, and pleasant aftertaste.

In 1931, Geisha seeds were discovered in the Geisha forest in Ethiopia and sent to Kenya's premier Coffee Research Institute. In 1936, Geisha coffee was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania. In 1953, Costa Rica also began introducing this coffee. Finally, in the 1970s, Mr. Francisco Serracin of the Tumba Seven Estate in Panama obtained seeds from CATIE in Costa Rica and began growing Geisha coffee. Due to extremely low yields and the need to participate in bidding, this bean can be said to be hard-won.

It is reported that the subsequent Panama National Treasure Coffee Competition will be divided into Geisha and non-Geisha groups to prevent Geisha from stealing the spotlight from other varieties again. Geisha belongs to the Typica family, yet it became famous more than seventy years after leaving Ethiopia, confirming the saying that Ethiopia is a treasure trove of Arabica genetics. Simply sharing one variety abroad is enough to make waves in the coffee market.

For a long time prior, the recognition of premium coffee mostly followed Japan's lead. However, Geisha swept through the coffee world with hurricane-like force. This coffee revolution came with overwhelming momentum, causing the long-reigning king and queen of the coffee kingdom—Jamaica Blue Mountain and Hawaii Kona—to also step aside.

Panama Geisha grows at altitudes from 1,500 to 1,650 meters. Its unique growing environment creates its distinctive flavor characteristics:

Geisha green coffee beans have a jade-like warm texture with very beautiful blue-green color. They smell of fresh grass, peach fragrance, berry notes, and an oolong tea milky sweetness that most coffee beans lack, but the faint tea aroma is also intriguing.

Knowledge point: As the most outstanding variety among numerous coffee cultivars, Geisha is very popular among coffee enthusiasts. Among them, washed-processed Geisha best highlights the flavor characteristics of Geisha itself.

In Brief

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