Where Do Geisha Coffee Beans Come From - An Introduction to Coffee Origins and Varieties

Because "Geisha" is the same word as "geisha" in English, our Taiwanese friends translated Geisha directly from English and called it "geisha." However, people later discovered that Geisha has a dual meaning in Ethiopia: one referring to a specific region in southwestern Ethiopia, and the other referring to the coffee varieties within that specific region. Therefore, Geisha does not mean "geisha" as translated directly from English. In 2006, when Mr. Yuan of Kalu Meng Coffee first imported Panama's Geisha to mainland China, he named it "Gui Xia" (瑰夏).

Understanding the Geisha Variety

Geisha seedlings were first discovered and collected in the wild forests of southwestern Ethiopia. The collection purpose at that time was to find new disease-resistant varieties, named after the nearby Geisha Mountain. In 1954, it was brought to Costa Rica and recorded as T2722. During the 1950s and 60s, it was trial-planted in many coffee farms throughout Central and South America but was not widely cultivated due to its low yield and fragile plant weaknesses. It wasn't until 2003 that it was discovered by the Peterson family of Hacienda La Esmeralda, and after winning the 2004 Best of Panama competition, it ushered in the era of Panamanian Geisha.

Geisha is very particular about its growing environment, requiring high altitude, fertile soil, clouds or plant shade, and cannot be directly exposed to harsh sunlight. The owner of Hacienda La Esmeralda has mentioned that the estate needs numerous shade trees to protect the delicate Geisha from direct sunlight, and traditional pruning must be adopted during the initial planting period, otherwise the plants can easily die. Geisha planted at higher altitudes has a longer maturation time for coffee cherries, resulting in more complex and unique flavor profiles.

Unlike other coffee varieties, Geisha coffee trees have very thin leaf systems, meaning photosynthesis efficiency is low, and their root systems are fragile, with slow absorption of water and nutrients. Therefore, coffee production is very scarce, combined with high-altitude growing environments, the cherries also mature relatively late. The fruit yield of a Geisha coffee tree is only half that of the Caturra variety, which is one of the reasons why Geisha is so precious.

Since Geisha became famous, coffee farmers worldwide, not just in Central and South America, have been competing to plant this variety. However, each producing region has unique terroir, and different terroirs affect the quality and flavor of coffee, so Geisha also displays various flavor profiles. FrontStreet Coffee believes the most representative examples are still from Geisha's place of origin—Ethiopia—and the place where Geisha became famous—Panama.

Flavor Characteristics of Geisha from Different Regions

Panama has only three major coffee producing regions: Boquete, Volcan, and Renacimiento, yet it produces some of the world's most expensive coffee. The Boquete region is one of the towns in Chiriquí Province, located on a plateau at an altitude of approximately 1,000-2,000 meters on the eastern side of Barú Volcano. It faces the warm and humid Caribbean monsoon winds, with the cold Atlantic current behind it. The mountains are high and steep, including "Barú Volcano National Park," which is an ecological conservation area with rich biodiversity, featuring seven microclimates. Coupled with year-round mist and abundant rainfall, this creates excellent local growing conditions. FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha coffee from Hacienda La Esmeralda and Elida Estate comes from the Boquete region.

After Geisha won championship honors, the Peterson siblings implemented more systematic management of the Geisha coffee trees in their estate based on altitude, region, and cupping performance. The Geisha growing area was divided into three main sections: Cañas Verdes, Jaramillo, and El Velo. To ensure traceability of each coffee batch, the Petersons further divided each major section into smaller plots, allowing buyers of Geisha coffee to access specific planting plot information through batch records.

The Geisha variety was first discovered in the Jaramillo section, and it was here that the Peterson siblings decided to increase the planting altitude for Geisha. As the discovery and cultivation site of Geisha, Jaramillo has become Hacienda La Esmeralda's most renowned section. Jaramillo has an average altitude of over 1,650 meters, where the humid and cold mountain air allows the Geisha coffee here to be rich in natural essence. FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Red Label comes from the Mario plot in Jaramillo, using natural processing, presenting a fragrant aroma of rose, citrus, berries, and honey.

Returning to the place of origin of the Geisha variety, Ethiopian growing altitudes are generally between 1,900-2,000 meters, with ultra-high altitudes more conducive to the accumulation of sugar substances inside coffee cherries. FrontStreet Coffee believes that compared to Geisha from the Panama region, Ethiopian Geisha often features yellow stone fruit flavors as the main profile, reminiscent of yellow peaches, with medium-high sweetness. Better-performing batches even show toffee flavor characteristics.

Ethiopia's most representative Geisha coffee comes from Gesha Village. The Geisha varieties here differ from those in Panama. Gesha Village has three Geisha varieties: Gori Gesha, Gesha 1931, and Illubabor Forest. Gori Gesha and Gesha 1931 share the same lineage as Panamanian Geisha varieties but are still not identical varieties. Among them, Gesha 1931 shows characteristics very similar to Panamanian Geisha, while Illubabor is a disease-resistant variety provided by the Ethiopian research institute. To ensure the quality of Geisha coffee produced by Gesha Village, estate owner Adam established a strict grading system, dividing Geisha into different levels: Auction, Gold Label, Red Label, Green Label, and CHAKA.

The Gesha Village auction batches represent the highest quality tiers and can only be obtained through buyer bidding. The Gesha Village Red Label acquired by FrontStreet Coffee also has complete traceability information, accounting for 15% of the annual total production, representing high-quality Geisha coffee with cupping scores reaching 88 points or above according to SCA standards. The natural-processed Gesha Village Red Label not only possesses the classic Geisha characteristics of complex fruits, honey, and floral notes but also adds the bright, elevated acidity typical of African coffee. FrontStreet Coffee considers this a very high-value Geisha batch, worthy of acquisition by Geisha enthusiasts.

Processing and Brewing

The processing method for FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Red Label Geisha is natural processing. After picking, the coffee cherries are first screened to remove floating debris and impurities, then dried in thin layers on African raised beds covered with plastic sheets. During drying on African beds, additional screening is performed to select out insect-damaged beans and green-colored coffee beans. The total drying time is 18-30 days.

FrontStreet Coffee's brewing parameters for Geisha coffee:

Geisha coffee is world-renowned for its rich floral notes and complex fruit profiles. The specific brewing parameters used by FrontStreet Coffee are: V60 dripper, water temperature 91°C, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, coffee amount 15g, medium-fine grind size (80% pass-through rate on China #20 standard sieve).

FrontStreet Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) segmented extraction method: First, use 30g of water to fully saturate the coffee bed into a "hamburger" shape and bloom for 30 seconds; for the second pour, at the 1'00" mark on the timer, inject water to 125g, then wait until the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed before starting the third pour; for the third pour, at the 1'40" mark, inject water to 225g, and wait until the coffee liquid has completely dripped through, with a total extraction time of 1'59". The total brewing time is 2'00". After coffee extraction is complete, gently shake to allow the coffee liquid to fully mix evenly before tasting.

After brewing, FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Geisha coffee presents flavors of coconut, licorice, cream, chocolate, toffee, citrus, almond, and strawberry on the palate, with a fermented aroma. The overall flavor profile is quite balanced, with a rich mouthfeel and prominent nutty flavors.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473