Single Origin Blend Coffee Beans Costa Rica Mira Su Geisha Panama Butterfly Geisha Blend

When it comes to blended coffee beans, many people might think of blends from different origins that create a consistent flavor profile—typically used for espresso. However, there's actually another type of coffee blend known as single-origin blend, which combines different coffee varieties from the same growing region. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will explore what single-origin blended coffee beans are and whether they can be considered single-origin coffee.

The Origin Story of Costa Rica and Panama Geisha

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

The renowned Panama Geisha actually originated from Costa Rica. In the 1930s, the Geisha variety spread from Ethiopia and eventually reached Tanzania. In 1953, Costa Rica's research institution CATIE obtained some Geisha seeds from Tanzania for research purposes. In 1963, Don Pachi Serracin introduced Geisha coffee trees from Costa Rica to Panama. However, due to low yields directly affecting harvest quantities, coffee farmers had little interest in cultivating them. It wasn't until Daniel Peterson, owner of Panama La Esmeralda estate, accidentally discovered that coffee beans produced by Geisha coffee trees—originally planted as windbreaks at the highest point of his coffee estate—possessed distinctive citrus and floral notes typical of African coffees. After entering these beans separately in the 2004 Panama Cupping Competition where they gained immediate fame, Geisha beans became unstoppable, winning the Panama Cupping Competition championship for consecutive years. Today, Geisha coffee beans are undoubtedly considered the ultimate treasure among specialty coffee enthusiasts worldwide.

FrontStreet Coffee · Panama Flower Butterfly Geisha Blend

FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Flower Butterfly was known as Cupid a few years ago. It was said to contain 30% Geisha, but after two years of sales, the proportion was first adjusted to 50%, then to 70%, and it was renamed Flower Butterfly—though likely not in those exact proportions.

At this point, some might ask: Is Flower Butterfly a blended coffee? According to research conducted by FrontStreet Coffee, due to the estate's historical reasons, early Geisha varieties were interplanted with Catuai and Catimor varieties to pursue higher yields. For easier harvesting, coffee farmers later categorized the three varieties, then directly mixed them during export to achieve the desired rich flavor profile. Since the three varieties in FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Boquete Flower Butterfly all come from the same origin and region, it qualifies as single-origin coffee. For comparison, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian beans are also not single-variety—the difference is that FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian beans feature natural harvest blending, while FrontStreet Coffee's Flower Butterfly involves artificial post-harvest blending.

Product Name: FrontStreet Coffee Panama Boquete Flower Butterfly Geisha Blend

Region: Panama Boquete

Altitude: 1600m

Processing Method: Washed

Varieties: Geisha, Caturra, Catuai

FrontStreet Coffee · Costa Rica Mirasu Estate Geisha Blend

Similarly, FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Mirasu Estate Geisha Blend consists of Geisha, ET47, SL28, and MAICO—all from the same estate, making it a single-origin blended coffee. It's worth mentioning the ET47 and SL28 varieties. ET47 is a variety from Ethiopian native stock. In the 1990s, the Costa Rica Coffee Research Institute provided many imported varieties as research trees resistant to leaf rust to farmers in the Tarrazú region for cultivation. The original breeding goal for SL28 was to mass-produce coffee beans that combined high quality with disease resistance. However, in some regions, breeding focused mainly on high yield and disease resistance without considering resilience. Thanks to its Bourbon genetics, although SL28's yield later fell short of expectations, its copper-colored leaves and broad-shaped beans offer wonderful sweetness, balance, and complex flavors, along with distinctive citrus and plum characteristics.

Product Name: FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mirasu Estate Geisha Blend

Region: Tarrazú, Costa Rica

Estate: Mirasu Estate

Altitude: 1700m

Processing Method: Raisin Honey Process

Varieties: Geisha, ET47, SL28, MACIO

Coffee Bean Processing Methods

FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Flower Butterfly uses the washed processing method. After sorting, coffee cherries are placed in a depulper to initially remove their skin and pulp. Coffee beans with remaining pulp and mucilage are placed in water to ferment for about 24 hours. After fermentation, coffee beans with parchment are placed in flowing water channels to wash away pulp and mucilage. After washing, the coffee beans are sun-dried or dried using mechanical dryers until moisture content reaches approximately 12%. Finally, the parchment is removed from the green coffee beans. The washed processing method gives FrontStreet Coffee's Flower Butterfly Geisha blend brighter acidity and highlights the floral characteristics of Geisha coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's Mirasu Geisha Blend uses raisin honey processing, retaining 100% mucilage with zero water treatment. This increases the complexity of honey processing, requiring strict timing control. On the day of coffee berry harvest, the harvested coffee berries are poured into large water tanks, where mature, full fruits sink to the bottom. Underdeveloped or overripe fruits float to the surface and these floaters must be removed. The selected coffee fruits are dried on raised beds for at least three days, then the berry skins are removed while preserving the mucilage before further drying. At this stage, climate factors are key to successful honey processing. During drying, these coffee fruits must be constantly turned to ensure even drying, but the turning frequency must be controlled to allow slow drying for proper fermentation without being so slow as to cause over-fermentation. The raisin processing method enhances the sweetness of FrontStreet Coffee's Mirasu Geisha blend.

Brewing Comparison

FrontStreet Coffee uses a V60 dripper to brew both of their Geisha blend coffee beans. The V60 conical dripper has a wide opening, and its unique spiral ribs allow air to escape more easily, improving extraction quality. The mouthfeel might not be as rich, but its high concentration brings out prominent sweetness and acidity with distinct aromas—making it a standout characteristic.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Parameters

Water Temperature: 90-91°C

Grind Size: BG#6m (fine sugar size)

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Technique: First, pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour 95g more (scale shows approximately 125g), finishing in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (scale shows approximately 225g), finishing in about 1 minute and 40 seconds. Complete the drip extraction between 1'55" to 2'00", remove the dripper, and finish extraction.

[FrontStreet Coffee Panama Flower Butterfly] Brewing Flavor Notes: Floral, black tea, berries, citrus, with a slight nutty aftertaste, smooth mouthfeel, low bitterness, moderate acidity, and medium finish.

[FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mirasu] Brewing Flavor Notes: Jasmine fragrance, gentle fruit acidity, almond aftertaste, with noticeable sweetness.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473