COE Coffee Bean Auction: What Do Esmeralda Geisha Red Label and Geisha Village Red Label Mean?

Geisha coffee beans possess an extraordinary legendary history, renowned through Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. After winning the championship in 2004, they rapidly developed, and nowadays, more and more growing regions have begun cultivating Geisha varieties. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the flavor profile most representative of Geisha still belongs to Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda, so FrontStreet Coffee also recommends Emerald's Red Label or Green Label to customers trying Geisha coffee for the first time.

If Hacienda La Esmeralda represents Panama's Geisha, then Gesha Village represents Ethiopia's Geisha. So what are the differences between Emerald's Geisha and Gesha Village's Red Label, and how are they classified?

The Geisha variety was discovered in 1931 from the Gesha forest in Ethiopia, then sent to Kenya's Coffee Research Institute, introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936, brought to Costa Rica in 1953, and introduced to Panama in 1970. Initially, not many people paid attention to Geisha, until Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda (also known as Panama Geisha Hacienda La Esmeralda) separated it from other varieties in 2003 and became the BOP competition champion in 2004. Only then did the Geisha variety officially enter everyone's view.

Although the flavor of the Geisha variety is delicate, such elegant flavor comes from specific growing conditions. The Geisha variety is quite picky about its growing environment, requiring areas with higher altitudes, cloud shade or extensive shade trees, and fertile soil. High-altitude Geisha varieties display distinct floral aromas and delicate, elegant fruit acidity. Such elegant flavor is also one of the reasons for its global popularity.

Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha Classification

Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha coffee beans are divided into three grades: Auction, Red Label, and Green Label (Blue Label has been discontinued). Hacienda La Esmeralda has extremely fine divisions in its Geisha plots, mainly featuring three major plots: Jaramillo, Cañas Verdes, and El Velo. Each plot is further subdivided into smaller plots. High-quality Geisha is mainly produced from the Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes plots.

Auction and Red Label

Esmeralda Special, commonly known as Red Label, represents Hacienda La Esmeralda's premium Geisha aside from auction batches. These Geisha beans are grown at altitudes above 1,600 meters, with cupping scores no lower than 91 points. Each micro-batch contains detailed traceability information, including plot, altitude, latitude and longitude, tree age, harvest time, processing method, and more. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's latest Emerald Red Label batch is selected from the Sugar Cane plot, with fruits harvested on February 13th of this year. After 25 days of slow natural drying, it brings rich aromas similar to jasmine, cranberry, passion fruit, citrus, and cinnamon.

Hacienda La Esmeralda's independent auctions feature Red Label batches selected from designated plots for auction. However, there are also non-auction Red Labels on the market today, which are actually Geisha beans selected from the same plots but not participating in auctions, then circulated in the market. The variety quality is consistent, with only differences in pricing. This grade of Geisha uses natural or washed processing methods, with flavors featuring special, bright floral notes and citrus aromas.

Green Label Geisha

Private Collection, commonly known as Green Label, was once a high-quality Geisha batch that didn't participate in auctions. Green Label is harvested from mixed Geisha beans from different plots within the two main estates at altitudes between 1,600-1,800 meters. With its classic citrus-honey notes, it became the preferred choice for many "budget-conscious" Geisha enthusiasts. Since 2022, Hacienda La Esmeralda has also begun indicating which sub-estate these Green Label Geisha beans come from. According to information disclosed on Hacienda La Esmeralda's official website, Green Label Geisha from different plots shows unique main flavor directions due to terroir differences. Green Label from the Jaramillo plot carries strong jasmine and rose notes; Cañas Verdes Green Label features richer tropical fruit flavors; while El Velo's Green Label presents lemongrass and floral aromas.

Blue Label Geisha

The Geisha 1500 brand is what we commonly know as Blue Label Geisha. Selected from altitudes of 1,400-1,500 meters, it's a blend from three different plots: Jaramillo, Cañas Verdes, and El Velo. The flavors mainly feature subtle floral notes, fruit acidity, and melon sweetness, with a less full-bodied mouthfeel. As Hacienda La Esmeralda aimed to enhance brand positioning, Blue Label batches were discontinued between 2019-2022, and the Geisha coffee from these regions was sold to a brand company, which launched "Las Rocas," also known as Volcanic Rock Geisha coffee beans - what we recognize as Blue Label.

Gesha Village Coffee Estate

Gesha Village Coffee Estate is located in the Bench Maji region of Ethiopia, covering a total area of 471 hectares, with coffee cultivation reaching 320 hectares. The estate's altitude exceeds 1,900 meters, allowing coffee trees to grow slowly, giving coffee fruits more time to accumulate nutrients. Gesha Village is divided into 8 plots, each planted with single varieties, so at Gesha Village, single-plot batches also ensure single-variety consistency.

Gesha Village cultivates three varieties: Gori Gesha, Gesha 1931, and Illubabor Forest. The first two are both Geisha varieties, while Illubabor Forest is a disease-resistant variety provided by the Ethiopian Research Institute. Gesha Village has a strict internal grading system: Auction, Gold Label, Red Label, Green Label, and CHAKA batches.

Gesha Village's coffee beans are full of complex flavors and are very rare, often selected by international competition baristas for competitions. Due to maintaining the local ecological environment and establishing good cooperative relationships with local residents, the Gesha Village Foundation was established to give back to the local community, promoting educational development through two schools near the estate.

Auction Batches

Accounting for only 3.7% of Gesha Village's annual production, these are the estate's top-tier batches through rigorous selection, only available through the 2018 Gesha Village Coffee Estate Global Auction. The 2018 auction batches had cupping scores ranging from 88.15-92.67 points, further divided into Champion's Reserve and Farm Reserve. For example, Gesha Village 2018 Auction Lot RSV.6 belongs to the auction batch category.

Gold Label Batches

Similar to different grades of Geisha at Hacienda La Esmeralda, Gesha Village's Gold Label Geisha also has its English name "Rarities," which translates to "rare treasures." Simply put, it's the highest-grade Geisha (non-auction batch) launched by Gesha Village. The "gold" in Gold Label is taken from the background color of the product trademark. According to Gesha Village's official website disclosure, this grade of Geisha coffee accounts for only 10% of the entire estate's total production. Like Hacienda La Esmeralda's Red Label, each batch comes with plot information for buyer reference.

The variety of Gesha Village's Gold Label Geisha is called "Gesha 1931." The selection work at Gesha Village was led by Willem Boot. Due to the lack of genetic comparison technology at that time, estate owner Adam found two Geisha varieties in the vast Gesha area by referencing Panama Geisha's plant morphology and flavor performance. One variety had flavors remarkably similar to Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha, so it was named "Gesha 1931," symbolizing the year 1931 when Geisha was discovered.

Red Label Batches

Red Label batches account for about 15% of Gesha Village's annual production, featuring fully traceable batches with cupping scores exceeding 88 points (SCA standard). They possess typical Gesha Village flavors, with slightly less intensity and complexity than Gold Label batches, making them highly cost-effective single-origin batches. The Gesha Village Red Label on FrontStreet Coffee's menu belongs to the Gori Gesha variety. It was found by estate owner Adam in the nearby Gori forest, who thought it looked very similar to Geisha plants, so he brought it back to the estate for cultivation and named it Gori Gesha. Therefore, compared to Hacienda La Esmeralda's T2722, it's closer to the original Ethiopian Geisha variety.

Green Label Batches

Green Label batches come from single plots and are single-variety batches at Gesha Village Coffee Estate. Green Label batches provide complete traceability information for each batch number, including farm plot name, coffee variety, and processing date.

CHAKA Batches

CHAKA batches mix coffee from all plots of the estate and the entire production season. CHAKA batch coffee comes in both natural and washed processing methods, containing the three coffee varieties from Gesha Village: Gesha 1931, Gori Gesha, and Illubabor. Unlike other batches at Gesha Village, CHAKA mixes all plots and annual production seasons of Geisha coffee beans from the estate, containing the three Geisha varieties cultivated at Gesha Village: Gesha 1931, Gori Gesha, and Illubabor.

This coffee bean has two natural processing methods: washed and natural. FrontStreet Coffee acquired the naturally processed batch. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee experienced Gesha Village's CHAKA presenting flavors of flowers, citrus, berries, cream, oolong tea, and sugarcane.

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