Where Does Panamanian Geisha Come From? How Has Geisha Developed?

Panama's Global Coffee Recognition

Panama enjoys extremely high recognition in the global coffee market. Although its production volume is not high, it is renowned for producing the Geisha variety, which possesses delicate floral aromas, jasmine notes, and peach-like fragrances. Furthermore, Geisha has become one of the world's most popular coffee varieties, and at numerous coffee auctions, Geisha has achieved record-breaking bids.

The Origins of Geisha

Therefore, many people might assume that Panama is the birthplace of the Geisha variety. While it was Panamanian coffee producers who discovered the potential of the Geisha variety, Panama is merely where this variety rose to fame. The true origin of Geisha is in Ethiopia, where it is a local landrace variety.

Initially in 1930, British colonial explorers arrived in the Gesha region near the Kaffa Forest in southwestern Ethiopia and discovered the Geisha variety. The variety was recorded as Geisha (due to language barriers, Gesha was mistakenly recorded as Geisha).

Geisha's Journey to Panama

Afterward, this variety was sent to research stations in Kenya and Tanzania, then brought to CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) in Costa Rica in 1953, where it was recorded as Geisha T2722 (T refers to the center's location in Turrialba, Costa Rica).

At this time, it was discovered that this variety possessed resistance to leaf rust disease, so in the 1970s, it was distributed to Panama for cultivation. However, the Geisha variety was too fragile and not favored by local farmers, so it was not widely cultivated. Nevertheless, because the plants of this variety are relatively tall, some estates still planted it as windbreaks.

The Breakthrough at Hacienda La Esmeralda

It wasn't until Hacienda La Esmeralda discovered through cupping after one harvest that among their coffee beans, there was a particular variety with exceptionally unique citrus fruit tones and floral aromas. They then began to separate and process this variety independently.

Later, in 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda used the Geisha variety to participate in the annual Best of Panama (BOP) competition. Geisha received extremely high evaluations and won the championship with very high scores, becoming famous overnight. Subsequently, this batch of championship Geisha coffee beans was auctioned at a price of $21 per pound, breaking the highest record at that time.

Global Expansion and Cultural Variations

Afterward, the fame of the Geisha variety continued to grow. More and more coffee estates in the Panama region began to introduce Geisha cultivation, consequently increasing their renown, such as Elida Estate and Aurora Estate, among others. In addition, other coffee-growing countries also introduced the Geisha variety. However, due to differences in geography, climate conditions, and processing methods, the flavor profiles of Geisha varieties grown in different countries and estates vary.

Furthermore, the Japanese were the earliest Asians to encounter coffee. When the Japanese encountered the Geisha variety, the pronunciation of "Gesha" was similar to "geisha" (meaning "art person" or "performing artist") in Japanese, so they referred to Geisha coffee beans as "Geisha." Later, when Taiwan encountered the Geisha variety through Japan, they also adopted the name "Geisha." However, it was domestic green bean merchants who later named Gesha as "Gui Xia."

Geisha at FrontStreet Coffee

Currently, at FrontStreet Coffee, we offer multiple Geisha coffee bean varieties from Panama, including the Green Label Geisha and Red Label Geisha produced by Hacienda La Esmeralda. Additionally, we have Geisha coffee beans from the Boquete region of Panama, the same production area as Hacienda La Esmeralda. This Boquete Geisha coffee bean uses washed processing and medium roasting. After brewing, you'll experience jasmine fragrance, lemon-like acidity, and flavors of bergamot and honey, with a green tea-like mouthfeel and a clean, refreshing taste.

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