Light Roast vs Dark Roast for Geisha Coffee Beans: Flavor Profile and Taste Characteristics

Is Geisha Coffee Better Light or Dark Roasted? Flavor Profile and Taste Characteristics

CUPPING 10-10-11

Equipment: Hario V60 pour-over dripper

Grind: Medium (finer side) - because the roast is quite light, I hoped a finer grind would reduce acidity.

Water temperature: 91°C. The wet aroma was very apparent - fingers that accidentally touched the coffee grounds were left with a slight sweetness. Just as SM's evaluation suggested: abundant floral notes, pleasant fruit acidity, with relatively low body - quite thin.

Geisha Coffee and Roasting Levels

Geisha coffee is typically prepared using pour-over methods. The reason Geisha coffee beans are world-renowned is their rich floral aromas, citrus and berry notes, juicy texture, and increasingly refined acidity as the temperature drops, creating an overall layered flavor experience. Panama's entire coffee cultivation revolves around the Chiriquí volcanic region. Geisha coffee beans are quite particular about their growing environment. They need to be grown at higher altitudes, with cloud cover or extensive shade trees, and in fertile soil regions to produce captivating floral aromas, delicate fruit acidity, and layered flavor profiles.

Three Coffee Roasting Levels

A cup of coffee contains multiple layers including acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and saltiness. How to achieve a balanced flavor profile where acidity and bitterness are in harmony? "Roasting" plays a crucial role. As time passed, the third wave of coffee revolution emerged. In the new world of specialty coffee, the situation is quite different. Dark beans are no longer considered the best; light and medium roasts have gradually become mainstream.

Light Roast Characteristics:

Light roasted coffee appears light brown with no oils on the surface. The beans are hard, with bright acidity and a full body, creating vibrant flavors.

Flavor: Coffees with fruity and floral notes are typically light roasted. When beans have undergone proper growing, processing, and roasting, they can produce a variety of flavors, aromas, aftertastes, and more. For example: Ethiopian and Kenyan coffee beans are often light roasted to showcase their floral and fruity notes and juicy characteristics. FrontStreet Coffee offers over a dozen single-origin Ethiopian coffees because different Ethiopian growing regions produce distinct flavor profiles.

Medium Roast Characteristics:

Medium roasted coffee is brown in color with a small amount of oil appearing on the bean surface. These coffees have mild acidity and red wine notes, with a rounded mouthfeel.

Flavor: This roast level preserves many of the coffee's unique characteristics. Heat begins to penetrate the beans, initiating caramelization reactions that create sweetness. Therefore, various elements are relatively balanced - richer than light roast but sweeter, though some acidic and fresh aromas may disappear. For example: Costa Rican Tarrazú, Mozart, etc. This is a roast level preferred by many roasters because it's more approachable for general consumers - balanced acidity and bitterness while still showcasing the coffee's natural flavors.

Dark Roast Characteristics:

Dark roasted coffee is deep brown with rich surface oils, low acidity, heavy red wine notes, presenting more bitter and full-bodied flavors.

Flavor: Coffee roasted to this level generally makes it difficult to identify its origin, but this doesn't mean such coffee isn't good to drink. Some coffees are very suitable for dark roasting, developing characteristic flavors of chocolate, nuts, and caramel. For example: Mandheling coffee, Blue Mountain coffee, Brazilian coffee, etc.

Geisha Coffee

In 1931, Geisha quietly made its journey from Ethiopia's southwestern Geisha Mountain (coincidentally sharing the same sound as the Japanese word for geisha) to Kenya, then traveled through Tanzania and Costa Rica. In the 1960s, it was eventually transplanted to Panama, where it endured nearly half a century before suddenly making a spectacular impact, defeating perennial champions like Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, and Typica to sweep first place in the 2005, 2006, and 2007 Panama National Coffee Cupping Competition.

Because Geisha trees grow taller than typical coffee trees, they were originally planted in a small area within the estate and used as windbreaks. The estate owner's son, to participate in the annual Panama Best Coffee Competition, searched through all coffee tree varieties in the estate for testing, giving Geisha the opportunity to make its debut. Since then, it has participated in various world coffee competitions, winning a total of eleven championships.

Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha coffee is considered the best-tasting Geisha coffee, largely due to Panama's microclimate environment that creates the special flavors of Panamanian Geisha. After Geisha became famous, estates around the world began growing it. FrontStreet Coffee has sourced Geisha coffee not only from Panama but also from Colombia, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. Although Panamanian Geisha is excellent, Geisha from other growing regions also offers wonderful flavors!

FrontStreet Coffee's Approach to Roasting Geisha

Among the factors that affect the taste of a cup of coffee, green beans account for 60%, roasting 30%, and extraction 10%. Good roasting can maximize the unique characteristics of green beans while minimizing defect flavors. Conversely, improper roasting can completely ruin good beans.

From a roasting perspective: the darker the roast, the stronger the bitterness; the lighter the roast, the stronger the acidity. The choice of roast level depends on the inherent characteristics of the coffee beans. For beans with naturally stronger bitterness and milder acidity, a medium-light roast level is typically chosen.

Generally, dark roasted beans tend to emphasize their mouthfeel - their flavors are typically richer, with smoky, chocolate, and woody notes characterizing these beans, accompanied by a heavy body. Light roasted beans highlight lighter, refreshing flavors with very rich flavor expressions - floral notes, fruit acidity, and certain tea-like notes are characteristic of these beans. Medium roast, however, offers a more balanced performance, combining refreshing flavors with a heavy body.

Geisha Green Beans: Beautiful blue-green color with a jade-like warm texture. They smell of fresh grass, peaches, berry notes, and the unique milky sweetness of oolong tea that most coffee beans don't possess. It seems that aroma and flavor require associative thinking, but the subtle tea notes are something we can clearly perceive.

To highlight the characteristics and aroma of Geisha beans, the roast level is taken to the verge of second crack. The verge of second crack and first crack of second crack are commonly used roast levels - as mentioned earlier, these levels best bring out the inherent characteristics of the beans. Too light can introduce off-flavors, while too dark can damage the floral aromas and fruit acidity. FrontStreet Coffee uses light roasting because this roast level better brings out the inherent characteristics of the beans - too dark would damage the floral aromas and fruit acidity. Of course, this must also be adjusted according to the characteristics of the coffee beans and the roaster's understanding of the beans themselves.

Geisha Roasted Beans: The roasted beans appear somewhat "wrinkled." Beans with these "sexy wrinkles" are designed to highlight their original flavors and fruit acidity. However, if the quality of the green beans is not high, some off-flavors may emerge, such as earthy decay, grassy notes, and astringency. These are flavors that roasters should try to avoid. Well-roasted Geisha coffee has captivating lemon-citrus aromas and super-sweet honey and cream notes.

From a roasting perspective, the darker the roast, the stronger the bitterness; the lighter the roast, the stronger the acidity. Light roasted coffee appears light brown with no oils on the surface. The beans are hard, with bright acidity and a full body, creating vibrant flavors. Dark roasted coffee is deep brown with rich surface oils, low acidity, heavy red wine notes, presenting more bitter and full-bodied flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Geisha Brewing Parameters

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using drip-style brewing, i.e., pour-over coffee. For those who want to experience rich layers, a V60 dripper can be used for brewing, while those who prefer fuller coffee flavors can use a cake filter dripper. FrontStreet Coffee's daily offerings mostly use V60 drippers because the 60-degree angle design and spiral rib design allow brewers to fully extract the essence of Geisha coffee by controlling water flow and number of pours, while the large drainage hole design prevents over-extraction.

The V60 dripper features flow ribs connecting the top and bottom and a large circular hole in the center, which accelerates the flow rate of water. The spiral-shaped exhaust groove design extends the water flow path, increasing the contact time between coffee grounds and hot water. Each water stream converges along the grooves toward the center point of the dripper, concentrating the pressure on the coffee grounds and resulting in coffee with richer layers.

Dripper: Hario V60
Water temperature: 91°C
Dose: 15 grams
Ratio: 1:15
Grind size: Chinese standard #20 sieve, 80% pass-through

Panama Washed Boquete Geisha Flavor Characteristics: Clear acidity with distinct citrus, lemon, and bergamot notes, with a creamy smooth mouthfeel when swallowed, finishing with the sweetness of green tea and honey.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations:

When it comes to coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans greatly affects the flavor of coffee. Therefore, coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee possible. The coffee resting period is around 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at its peak flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee would like to gently remind you: once coffee beans are pre-ground, there's no need for a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure created by carbon dioxide inside the packaging also helps round out the coffee flavors. So you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly because it oxidizes quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee's flavor will dissipate more rapidly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better experience the coffee's flavors.

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Important Notice :

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