Panama BOP Champion Geisha Coffee Beans - Panama La Esmeralda Geisha Red, Green, and Blue Label Coffee Beans

As the world's first green bean competition, BOP's primary goal is to conduct sensory evaluation through blind tasting of specialty coffee grown in Panama, categorized by different coffee varieties. FrontStreet Coffee believes that BOP has played a crucial role in promoting the cultivation of specialty coffee in Panama.

BOP is the abbreviation for "Best of Panama," which translates to "Best of Panama." In fact, BOP is a platform that provides professional services to Panamanian growers interested in high-quality coffee. This event is designed and organized by the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP), a non-profit coffee grower/processor association in Panama that discovers and validates Panama's best coffee quality through technological innovation and blind tasting.

What is the BOP Auction?

In 1995, seven coffee-producing families in Panama jointly established the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP). In 1996, they founded the first Panama green bean competition: Best of Panama (BOP).

Starting in 2004, SCAP organized the first Best of Panama (BOP) auction, with only 11 lots of beans, with an average transaction price of $2.89 per pound. By 2012, this figure reached $24.83 per pound, greatly encouraging and promoting the development of specialty coffee. The renowned Hacienda La Esmeralda, Don Pachi Estate, Carmen Estate, and Elida Estate were all founding estates.

The emergence of BOP can also be seen as a strategic move by Panama's specialty coffee industry in the coffee market at that time. Through this successful strategy, Panama carved out a blue ocean focused on quality, where auction beans regularly fetch prices of hundreds of dollars per pound.

FrontStreet Coffee — Introduction to Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda

Since Geisha coffee beans began winning the BOP competition in 2004, they have shown remarkable performance. Later, expert identification revealed that these coffee beans were the Geisha variety from Ethiopia. Afterward, the Peterson family focused most of their energy on developing infrastructure to support excellent batch separation and refined processing.

In 1964, American banker Rudolph Peterson retired, moved to Panama, and purchased Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, initially focusing on dairy operations. Later, his son Price resigned from his medical practice to help his father run the farm. In 1987, they introduced Caturra and Catuai coffee varieties, and in 1994, established a washed processing plant, giving them their own coffee processing facility.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that Hacienda La Esmeralda's decision to acquire high-altitude estates with excellent quality was unique at the time, which allowed La Esmeralda to occupy a significant position in the coffee industry. Among these, the Jaramillo estate is where the Geisha variety is planted. Due to its low yield, the previous owner used it as a windbreak tree until its acquisition revealed its extraordinary flavor. This is precisely the charm of Geisha coffee—the harsher the growing environment, the better the flavor expression.

Although Hacienda La Esmeralda initially discovered coffee beans with flavor potential, for precision, they conducted cupping tests of coffee beans from different areas of the estate, determining planting plots based on altitude. This led to what we now know as the Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label Geisha grades, all classified by altitude. FrontStreet Coffee will explain this content in detail below.

FrontStreet Coffee — Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha Red Label Coffee Beans

Region: Boquete

Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda, Cañas Verdes

Altitude: 1600~1800m

Variety: Geisha

Processing Method: Natural

Panama Coffee Growing Regions

Panama is the southernmost country in Central America, bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, Costa Rica to the north, and Colombia to the south. It serves as an important isthmus connecting North and South America. Influenced by this geographical location, Panama has complex and varied microclimates, which create the unique flavors of Panamanian coffee. Generally, Panamanian coffee beans are full-bodied, lightweight, with mild acidity and balanced flavors.

Panama is roughly divided into four growing regions: Boquete, Volcan, Santa Clara, and Piedra de Candela.

Boquete:

Altitude of 1450 meters, this region produces the most coffee and the highest quality in Panama. Examples include Hacienda La Esmeralda, Kotowa Estate, Elida Estate, etc.

Volcan:

Altitude of 2000-3000 meters, coffee from this region is characterized by mild, balanced flavors and is gradually gaining attention from international experts and coffee enthusiasts. The renowned Baru Volcano coffee comes from this region.

Santa Clara:

Altitude of 1500 meters, this region benefits from irrigation by the Chorerra waterfall and proximity to the Panama Canal, allowing coffee from all of Panama to be conveniently transported worldwide.

Representative Estate of Boquete Region: Hacienda La Esmeralda

In 1964, American banker Rudolph Peterson retired, moved to Panama, and purchased Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, initially focusing on dairy operations. Later, his son Price resigned from his medical practice to help his father run the farm. In 1987, they introduced Caturra and Catuai coffee varieties, and in 1994, established a washed processing plant, giving them their own coffee processing facility. In 1996, they acquired the nearby Jaramillo estate, which had a superior geographical environment and excellent flavors from existing coffee varieties, and incorporated it into Hacienda La Esmeralda.

Jaramillo attracted the attention of the Peterson father and son precisely because its originally planted coffee beans carried pleasant citrus and floral-fruit aromas, different from the original flavors of Panamanian coffee. After cupping coffee beans from different areas of the estate, they discovered an unknown coffee tree growing at the highest point of the estate. Due to its low yield, the previous owner didn't pay much attention to it, but the Petersons recognized its potential and decided to cultivate the coffee trees from this area separately.

Starting with its championship win at the BOP competition in 2004, Geisha coffee has shown remarkable performance. Later, expert identification revealed that these coffee beans were the Geisha variety from Ethiopia. Afterward, the Peterson family focused most of their energy on developing infrastructure to support excellent batch separation and refined processing.

Geisha Variety Plot Division at Hacienda La Esmeralda

Hacienda La Esmeralda has extremely detailed division of Geisha planting plots, mainly including three areas: Jaramillo, Cañas Verdes, and El Velo. Each area is further subdivided into smaller plots.

Jaramillo has an annual rainfall of 4000ml, with average daytime temperatures between 19-25°C and nighttime temperatures between 11-15°C, at an average altitude of 1600-1700m. The Jaramillo area is subdivided into 5 small plots: Mario, Noria, Reina, Bosque, and Buenos Aires.

Cañas Verdes has an annual rainfall of 3500ml, with average daytime temperatures between 16-23°C and nighttime temperatures between 10-15°C, at an average altitude of 1600-1800m. Cañas Verdes includes 9 small plots: Lino, Coronado, Fundador, León, Montaña, Trapiche, Chinta, Cabaña, and Tumaco.

El Velo is the newest acquisition of Hacienda La Esmeralda, with an average altitude of 1700-1900m. In addition to Geisha and Catuai, this area also has small quantities of other exotic varieties such as Laurina, Pacamara, Mocha, and SL28. El Velo is divided into 7 small plots: Guabo, Portón, Durazno, Mural, Higo, Buena Vista, and Águila.

FrontStreet Coffee — Introduction to Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda Red and Green Label Coffee Beans

Red Label Geisha (Esmeralda Special)

Esmeralda Special is what we commonly call "Red Label." Red Label Geisha is grown at altitudes of 1600-1800 meters, with cupping scores above 90 points, mainly produced in the Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes regions. Red Label batches may have either washed or natural processing methods. Red Label batches can only be obtained through global auctions. Selected from Geisha beans grown at altitudes of 1600-1800 meters, with cupping scores above 90 points, from the Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes regions.

The independent auction organized by Hacienda La Esmeralda features Geisha batches from designated plots for auction—these are the auction Red Labels. Customers often ask whether the auction Red Label or the regular Red Label tastes better. In fact, the non-auction Red Label and the auction Red Label come from the same plots, with the only difference being whether they participated in the auction. FrontStreet Coffee believes it's not necessary to drink auction-level coffee, first because the price is indeed high, and second, if you just want to try it, the regular Red Label is also an excellent choice.

This grade of Geisha uses natural or washed processing methods, with distinctive and bright floral and citrus aromas.

Green Label Geisha (Private Collection)

Private Collection is commonly known as Green Label. These are not independent competition batches but Geisha varieties that don't participate in auctions while maintaining excellent quality. Selected from Geisha beans grown at altitudes of 1600-1800 meters, from micro-batches mixed from different plots such as Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes. Commonly known as Green Label, Green Label batches don't participate in auctions but maintain excellent quality. Green Label Geisha is grown at altitudes of 1600-1800 meters, mainly mixed from batches in different plots such as Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes.

Because of the mixed-plot approach, sometimes the flavor similarity between Green Label and Red Label can be very high. Although the Green Label is not as high-grade as the Red Label, it still carries the classic Geisha flavors—floral, fruity, citrus acidity, and a thick, juicy mouthfeel. Green Label Geisha batches also have either washed or natural processing.

People often ask about the difference between Red Label and Green Label. FrontStreet Coffee offers the simplest explanation: Red Label can be traced back to specific small plots, while Green Label is a blend that cannot be traced. Because of this blending approach without detailed plot specifications, sometimes Green Label and Red Label flavors can be very similar, but the next batch might differ. FrontStreet Coffee feels that drinking Green Label is like a lottery experience—perhaps this batch you're drinking tastes like Red Label.

Although the Green Label is not as high-grade as the Red Label, it still carries the classic Geisha flavors—floral, fruity, citrus acidity, and a thick, juicy mouthfeel. Green Label Geisha also has either washed or natural processing.

Blue Label Geisha

The brand Geisha 1500 is what we commonly know as Blue Label Geisha. Selected from beans grown at altitudes of 1400-1500 meters, blended from three different plots: Jaramillo, Cañas Verdes, and El Velo. The flavor features subtle floral notes, fruit acidity, and sweetness, with a less full body. Blue Label Geisha only undergoes washed processing. Between 2019-2022, the Blue Label Geisha (Geisha 1500) batches were discontinued by Hacienda La Esmeralda.

FrontStreet Coffee — Brewing Parameters for Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda Red, Green, and Blue Label Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using the following brewing parameters: Hario V60 dripper, 91°C water temperature, 15g coffee dose, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, and EK43s grind setting 10 (80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve).

FrontStreet Coffee considers that these Geisha beans are all lightly roasted. Lightly roasted beans have lower coffee substance dissolution rates than dark roasts. Therefore, to ensure full extraction of Geisha flavors, higher water temperature is used for brewing, along with a finer grind size.

Regarding grind size, FrontStreet Coffee determines this through sieving. Following the grinding recommendations for pour-over coffee provided by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCA), FrontStreet Coffee verified through practical brewing using different grind sizes, which produced noticeably different results. Each coffee bean variety requires different grind sizes—that's the significance of sieving. If you don't have a sieve at home, FrontStreet Coffee suggests observing water flow rate to determine grind size—fast flow indicates too coarse, slow flow indicates too fine.

FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented extraction, also called three-stage brewing. Pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then continue pouring with a small circular motion to 125g for the first segment. When the water level drops to just expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g for the second segment. When the water level drops to just expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the bloom) Total extraction time is 2'00".

FrontStreet Coffee — Flavor Descriptions of Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda Red, Green, and Blue Label Coffee Beans

Red Label:

Bright rose and citrus aromas, with notes of brown rice, berries, apricot, complex fruits, and honey. It has a thick juice-like mouthfeel with rich flavor layers and noticeable sweetness.

Green Label:

Rich jasmine flower aroma with high sweetness, citrus, berries, juice-like texture, cream, green tea, orange peel, and cantaloupe. Overall flavor layers are rich, with a lingering floral and citrus aftertaste.

Blue Label:

Floral aroma, with gentle lemon and grapefruit acidity upon entry. The mid-section features honey sweetness, while the finish offers oolong tea notes and brown sugar sweetness. The mouthfeel is relatively clean and bright.

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