Colombian Coffee: Is Colombian Geisha Expensive? Cup of Excellence Auction Prices Reach New High

To this day the pandemic has still not fully subsided in Colombia, and the country's coffee logistics have continued to face disruption. The National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC) has said it will take 3 to 4 months to fully restore Colombia's coffee exports.

Despite these challenges, the Cup of Excellence green coffee auction in Colombia went ahead.

At the Colombia Cup of Excellence auction on June 3, 2021, a total of 25 award-winning green coffees scoring above 87 points achieved an average auction price of $30.79 per pound, setting a new record for COE prices worldwide and breaking the 20-year ceiling of the COE program. That far surpassed last year's Ethiopia COE auction price of $28.44 per pound.

The 25 green coffees in the 2021 Colombia Cup of Excellence auction had a total value exceeding $540,000. The coffee that took first place was auctioned to a coffee machine supplier from Bangkok, Thailand, at an astonishing $135.1 per pound, nearly double the previous COE record of $70.

The champion coffee, scoring 90.61 points, is a washed Geisha from the Obraje region in the Nariño department. The grower said he paid special attention to both the harvest and the fermentation of the cherries for this lot so that it would meet his standards and perform well in the competition, and he admitted he never imagined it would fetch such a price.

Coffee lovers in China will also have the chance to taste the top three coffees from this Colombia Cup of Excellence. The second-place coffee, a washed Geisha from the "La Siria" farm in the Huila department, was divided into two batches for auction, and one batch was acquired by two Chinese buyers.

The Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) announced that the 2022 Colombia Cup of Excellence would be held later that year.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Washed Colombian Geisha like the Obraje champion stands at the top of the market, but FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha range lets you explore the variety across a wide price range. At the entry level, FrontStreet's Boquete Geisha from Panama delivers a classic orange-blossom honey character, an oolong-tea feel, and soft fruit sweetness with clear layers, making it an accessible way to taste the style.

A step up, FrontStreet's Esmeralda Red Label - properly named Esmeralda Special - grows at 1,600-1,800 meters and must cup above 90 points, with each lot numbered and drawn from a single small plot so buyers can choose the flavor variation they prefer. The Green Label, or Private Collection, blends several plots instead of focusing on individual ones, and its friendlier price makes it strong value while keeping the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character.

For an Ethiopian Geisha, FrontStreet's Granada Estate Gesha is a rare single-variety farm selection roasted medium-light, showing bright citrus acidity, elegant ginger-flower aroma, and ripe-fruit sweetness with a refined finish. Gesha is a floral, fruit-forward type with a hard, dense bean that tends to sink and clog the dripper, so FrontStreet suggests a grind of about fine granulated sugar and 91°C water, using 15g in a small Hario V60 at a 1:16 ratio and pouring in three stages for a total extraction of about 2 minutes 10 seconds to 2 minutes 20 seconds.