How to Brew Hacienda La Esmeralda Gesha? Panama Coffee Bean Guide & The Prestige of Gesha Coffee

La Esmeralda Estate Blue Label Geisha

Origin: La Esmeralda Estate

Variety: Panama Geisha

Processing: Natural Process

Altitude: 1500m

Roast Level: Medium Roast

Following SCA recommendations, use 15g of coffee grounds with 90-91°C water to 225ml, with a water-to-coffee ratio of 1:15.

Flavor Notes: Subtle acidity of lemon and grapefruit upon entry, with oolong tea, honey, and sugarcane sweetness as it cools slightly, with a clean and bright mouthfeel.

Cupping Profile:

Dry Aroma: Floral, citrus

Wet Aroma: Citrus, lemon

Palate: Citrus, lemon, honey, nuts, tea-like sensation

The Geisha 1500 brand is what we commonly know as Blue Label Geisha. It uses beans grown at altitudes of 1400-1500 meters, from a mix of three different lots: Jaramillo, Cañas Verdes, and El Velo. The flavor is subtly floral, fruity acidic, and sweet, with a relatively less full body. Currently, Blue Label Geisha includes both washed and natural processed beans, with the natural processed Geisha coffee beans being introduced in small batches at the end of 2019.

La Esmeralda Estate (Bouquete)

La Esmeralda Estate is located at a corner of Baru Volcano, so coffee beans produced in this area were often named after Baru Mountain before they became famous. The surrounding area of Bouquete is scenic, with many leisure hotels, villas, and vacation estates built along the important Rio Caldera River. La Esmeralda Estate is located in Jaramillo on the right side of this river, and later coffee was planted in the higher altitude area of Canas Verdes on the left side of the river. This is all thanks to Rudolph Peterson's decision back then to purchase this property.

The biggest difference between the three labels is the difference in altitude. FrontStreet Coffee's previous articles have mentioned that coffee beans grown at higher altitudes will have better flavor, so the quality of Red Label and Green Label will be better than Blue Label. However, unlike Red Label Geisha, Green Label Geisha coffee beans are mixed harvests, while Red Label Geisha coffee beans are from specified lots and have participated in auctions, resulting in significant price differences. However, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the flavor difference between Red Label Geisha and Green Label Geisha is not significant, so Green Label offers much better value. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests that coffee lovers who enjoy Geisha coffee beans but have limited budgets might want to try Green Label Geisha.

FrontStreet Coffee has learned that Geisha coffee has a peculiar characteristic - it performs better in flavor when grown in extremely harsh environments. This means Geisha coffee is particularly difficult to harvest and has very low yields. Not every estate can produce delicious Geisha coffee; it requires sufficient conditions and equipment to produce Geisha coffee with excellent flavor. This is why La Esmeralda Estate's Geisha coffee beans stand out.

History of La Esmeralda Estate

Panama is located in Central America. As is well known, the Panama Canal was built by the United States and was independently controlled by the U.S. for a period of time after its completion. It was the construction of the Panama Canal that led many American elites to move south in the late 20th century, partly for work demands and partly to explore business opportunities. La Esmeralda Estate is a witness to that era.

In 1964, American banker Rudolph Peterson retired, moved to Panama, and purchased La Esmeralda Estate in Boquete, initially focusing on dairy farming. Later, his son Price resigned from his medical position to assist his father in running the farm, and in 1987 introduced Caturra and Catuai coffee varieties. In 1994, a washing processing plant was established, giving them their own coffee processing facility. In 1996, they purchased the nearby Jaramillo Estate, which had superior geographical conditions and coffee varieties with good flavor, and incorporated it into La Esmeralda Estate.

The reason Jaramillo Estate caught the attention of the Peterson father and son was precisely because of its originally planted coffee beans, which carried pleasant orange aroma and floral-fruit notes, different from the original flavor of Panamanian coffee. After cupping coffee beans from different areas of the estate, they discovered that it was an unknown coffee tree growing at the highest point of the estate. Due to its low yield, the previous owner only used it as a windbreak tree. As a result, the Peterson father and son discovered it and decided to separate the coffee trees in this area for independent cultivation. This is now what coffee lovers know as Geisha coffee.

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