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Introduction to Geisha Coffee and Hacienda La Esmeralda

It can be said that Geisha, as a coffee variety, owes its current fame and success not only to its excellent genetics but also to its "talent scout" - Hacienda La Esmeralda. We all know that it was precisely because Hacienda La Esmeralda discovered the potential of Geisha that it had the opportunity to shine brightly and become a dominant star variety. Therefore, Geisha produced by Hacienda La Esmeralda has always been a focus of attention, and even newcomers to the coffee industry have heard about the various Geisha offerings from Hacienda La Esmeralda.

On FrontStreet Coffee's menu, both the Green Label and Red Label from Hacienda La Esmeralda are sold. Consequently, some friends new to coffee might be curious when they see them: since both are Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda, what exactly is the difference between the Green Label and Red Label? That's an excellent question! So today, FrontStreet Coffee will take everyone through a review of what differences exist among Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha varieties!

Overview of Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha Labels

Besides the Green Label and Red Label, Hacienda La Esmeralda also offers other "labeled" Geisha varieties such as the Blue Label and Auction lots! The Blue Label Geisha, like the Red and Green Labels, is a member of Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha series; while the Auction Geisha represents the exceptional selections chosen from the Red Label Geisha. So today we'll get to know all of them~ Of course, before we do that, we need to understand: the blue, green, and red "labels" are all Chinese nicknames, created for easier memorization by naming them according to the background colors of each "labeled" Geisha, rather than being their original names.

Hacienda La Esmeralda has a total of four coffee cultivation areas, with Geisha primarily grown in three main regions. These are: Jaramillo, Canas Verdes, and El Velo. Each region is further divided into several different small plots to allow for traceability of some bean information.

Blue Label Geisha "GEISHA 1500"

When the Blue Label Geisha hadn't "retired" from the scene, it could be considered the most cost-effective Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda. Because its price was very accessible, allowing people to enjoy Geisha coffee from Hacienda La Esmeralda at the most reasonable price.

Because the Blue Label is harvested from Geisha grown at 1500 meters altitude in Hacienda La Esmeralda's three main sub-estates, the estate named it "GEISHA 1500" (this is its actual name). Due to its deep blue-toned background, it became commonly known as the Blue Label. However, in 2021, Hacienda La Esmeralda stopped producing the Blue Label Geisha, so the Blue Label Geisha "retired" from the scene, and FrontStreet Coffee's menu also removed this product.

Red Label Geisha "Esmeralda Special"

Surprising! FrontStreet Coffee skipped the Green Label to introduce the Red Label first. This is because the definition of the Red Label is very important, and we need to understand it first to better comprehend the differences between the Green Label Geisha and it. The original name of Red Label Geisha is "Esmeralda Special," signifying that it's a Geisha product carefully selected by Hacienda La Esmeralda. At the same time, it's also the highest quality Geisha sold by Hacienda La Esmeralda, as the cupping scores for Red Label must reach above 91 points.

Red Label Geisha is mainly produced in plots at 1600-1800 meters altitude in the two sub-estates of Jaramillo and Canas Verdes. (While another sub-estate of Hacienda La Esmeralda, El Velo, has also produced Red Label series, compared to regular Geisha, this sub-estate mainly focuses on exploring commercial viability, so besides Geisha, many different coffee varieties are planted.) As mentioned at the beginning, these sub-estates are divided into several different plots because they bring subtle flavor differences to the grown Geisha, so each batch of Red Label Geisha comes from a single independent plot. We can learn which specific plot this batch of Red Label comes from through the paper certificate that accompanies the Red Label Geisha. (The Red Label currently sold by FrontStreet Coffee comes from the Sugar Cane plot of Hacienda La Esmeralda's Canas Verdes sub-estate.) Additionally, the Red Label is divided into auction lots and non-auction lots. The auction Red Label is offered for global buyers to bid on through auction format, while non-auction Red Label is sold directly at retail pricing.

Green Label Geisha "Private Collection"

The original name of Green Label Geisha is "Private Collection," also coming from the three sub-estates of Esmeralda, at the same altitude of 1600-1800 meters. The difference between it and Red Label Geisha is that Red Label Geisha can be traced back to which specific plot in which sub-estate it originated from, while Green Label Geisha comes from mixed harvesting across the three estate plots, so it can only be traced back to which sub-estate it originated from. This is the biggest difference between Red Label Geisha and Green Label Geisha. So in reality, the Green Label can also be understood as "Red Label Geisha" without plot separation.

According to Hacienda La Esmeralda's website disclosure, Green Label Geisha from the Jaramillo estate will have more intense floral aromas; Green Label from Canas Verdes estate will have richer tropical fruit flavors; while Green Label from El Velo estate possesses fresher flavors similar to lemongrass. Now everyone knows the differences between Green Label and Red Label Geisha. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will brew them to see how both Green Label and Red Label Geisha perform! (Absolutely not because FrontStreet Coffee wants to drink some!) This time, FrontStreet Coffee used both washed Green Label and Red Label from Hacienda La Esmeralda, so both the roast level and brewing parameters are roughly the same. Brewing parameters are: 15g coffee, EK43 at setting 10, 80% pass-through rate with #20 sieve screen, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 92°C water temperature, three-stage pour brewing, V60 dripper. (Brewing process omitted)

The total extraction time for Green Label Geisha was 2 minutes and 15 seconds, about 10 seconds slower than the Red Label. The flavors it displayed were very rich jasmine floral aromas, gentle citrus acidity, with honeydew melon sweetness, and Earl Grey tea notes—clean and balanced; The Red Label Geisha displayed more prominent berry sweet and sour flavors, followed by fragrant rose floral aromas, obvious caramel sweetness, and black tea notes—also clean and balanced, with the aftertaste feeling more like a cup of fruit floral tea, very pleasant. Overall, each has its own advantages, and both are excellent Geisha coffees! (Have to say, worthy of being Geisha, it was almost gone before we could take photos!)

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