What Grade is Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Green Label Coffee Beans? Flavor Review of Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha Coffee Beans

Emerald Estate's Green Label Geisha Private Collection

Emerald Estate is located in the Boquete producing region of Panama. The estate gained fame alongside Geisha coffee after winning the 2004 BOP (Best of Panama) green coffee competition with the Geisha variety. Emerald Estate's Geisha coffees are divided into three grade batches: "Esmeralda Special," commonly known as Red Label; "Private Collection," commonly known as Green Label; and "Geisha1500," commonly known as Blue Label.

"Private Collection," literally translated as "Private Collection" and commonly known as Green Label, is not an independent competition batch. It consists of Geisha varieties grown in different plots that do not participate in bidding but still maintain excellent quality. Green Label Geisha coffee beans are selected from micro-batch mixed coffees grown at altitudes of 1600-1800m from different plots including Jaramillo, Canas Verdes, and others.

Those familiar with Emerald Estate's grading system will notice that both Red Label and Green Label batches share the same altitude standard, both selecting plots above 1600 meters. The difference is that Red Label comes from a single plot, while Green Label is a mixture of products from multiple plots at Emerald Estate. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes that although there are price differences, the quality of Green Label is by no means inferior to the Red Label Geisha batches.

Flavor Profiles

[Red Label] Bright rose and citrus aromas, brown rice, berries, apricots, complex fruits, and honey, with a rich juice-like sensation and richly layered flavors with noticeable sweetness.

[Green Label] Rich jasmine flower aroma with high sweetness, citrus, berries, juice-like sensation, cream, green tea, orange peel, and cantaloupe, with overall richly layered flavors and a lingering finish of floral and citrus notes.

[Washed Blue Label] Floral notes, with soft lemon and grapefruit acidity upon entry, honey sweetness in the middle, and oolong tea notes with brown sugar sweetness in the finish, with a relatively clean and bright mouthfeel.

[Natural Blue Label] Fermented aroma and fruity sweetness, with sweet melon and tropical fruit flavors, juice-like mouthfeel, and overall very high sweetness.