People's definition of top-tier coffee is constantly changing, and the old idea of a rich, full-bodied cup has long become a thing of the past. Nowadays, if you casually ask any coffee lover which coffee can represent top-tier coffee, the answer you get is very likely to bePanama Geisha coffee. There are many varieties of Panama Geisha, and facing the dazzling array of beans on the shelf at Qianjie, friends often ask: which one? Among all the Panama Geisha coffee estates, Qianjie believes that Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda is the most classic. However, seeing the same label ofGeisha, yet with an origin of Ethiopia, Qianjie has received even more questions from friends.

The rise of Geisha coffee

The Geisha coffee variety, like many other Arabica coffee varieties, originated in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is known for its enormous number of coffee varieties and was once a place where colonizers collected seeds. In the 1930s, Colonel Walley, who had been assigned the task, went to Ethiopia to collect 10 pounds of wild coffee seeds. When the task was successfully completed, he mentioned the Geisha coffee variety in a letter to the minister and transferred all the coffee seeds into the same bag, marked GEISHA and sent to the British embassy in Kenya.

Between 1931 and 1936, a British planting station in Kenya selected and bred it, then distributed part of the results to the Lyamungu Research Centre in Tanzania. Afterwards, the latter research centre bred fiveGeisha lines, VC496 to VC500. Among them, VC496, with its superior resistance to leaf rust, became a shining pearl of the research centre.

In 1953, the Costa Rica-based CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), across the ocean from Africa, received VC496 sent from the Lyamungu Research Centre, for research into coffee varieties resistant to leaf rust. CATIE then recoded it as T2722.

Coffee leaf rust intensified in Central America during the 1960s and 1970s. To combat this deadly coffee disease, Mr. Don Pachi, who worked at Panama's Ministry of Agriculture, distributed Geisha coffee seeds coded T2722 to coffee plantations in 1963. Because the Geisha variety has low yields and fragile branches that break easily, it did not attract the attention of coffee growers. Instead, Caturra and Catuai, with three times the yield, drew all the attention that should have belonged to Geisha.

It was not until 2004, in a BOP competition, that Hacienda La Esmeralda, which had long finished at the bottom, drew the attention of many international judges with its distinctive coffee flavors of "floral, citrus, berry, honey," becoming the focus of the entire event.

After learning that it was the Geisha coffee variety, many coffee estates in Panama began playing a treasure-hunt game within their own estates while also starting to plant Geisha coffee trees in batches. Subsequently, estates growing Geisha coffee also began to appear in many producing regions outside Panama.

Characteristics of Geisha Coffee

Geisha coffee has very distinctive characteristics. After tasting this coffee flavor that "only heaven should have," many people have set their sights on the Geisha coffee variety and want to taste the Geisha coffee from every coffee-producing region within the coffee belt. They taste them one by one: Costa Rica, Honduras, Bolivia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, and even the Geisha coffee beans from Yunnan, China. Some friends have even tasted the previously hidden Blue Mountain Geisha from Qianjie.

However, many people have found that even though it is the same variety, the taste can be worlds apart. Geisha coffee beans from other producing countries are never quite as impressive as Panama Geisha. Panama Geisha wins everyone's heart with its layered, rich flavors of "floral, berry, honey" and its bright, clean mouthfeel.

FrontStreet often says: coffee is a crop. Just like grapes, even wine made from grapes of different harvests will have different flavors. So even on the same piece of land, coffee beans grown in different years will taste different because of that year's climate.

Differences in origin have an even more obvious impact on the final flavor. In FrontStreet Coffee's everyday beans series, the differences between origin terroirs are laid bare. FrontStreet believes that even if you could get Geisha coffee seeds from a famous Geisha estate in Panama, it would still be hard to replicate the local fertile volcanic soil, dense virgin forest, and suitable humidity and temperature.

Geisha Coffee Bean Recommendations

Panama Geisha coffee is a representative of top-tier coffee, and FrontStreet follows the BOP competition every year, as well as the developments at some famous Geisha coffee estates. Exquisitely flavored Panama Geisha coffee beans always hold a unique place on FrontStreet Coffee's blackboard.

Today, the Panama Geisha coffee estates recorded on FrontStreet Coffee's blackboard include: Hacienda La Esmeralda, Guarumo Coffee Farm, Finca Sophia, Elida Estate, Finca Deborah, Finca Nugu, Janson Coffee Farm, Finca La Mula, Finca Aurum, and so on.

Front Street believes that Hacienda Esmeralda, as the discoverer of the Geisha coffee variety and the promoter of Geisha coffee flavor, is a classic among Panamanian Geishas. To understand the flavor of Panamanian Geisha coffee, the Red Label Geisha from Hacienda Esmeralda in Panama is a coffee you must try.

Hacienda Esmeralda places great importance on the quality of the Red Label brand, with extremely strict production requirements. Esmeralda Red Label Geishas are all grown above 1700 meters, and in addition must score above 90 points in cupping.

When FrontStreet Coffee selected Red Label coffee beans from Hacienda Esmeralda, it chose Geisha coffee beans from the same plot as the 2004 BOP champion, namely Geisha coffee beans from the Mario plot of the Jaramillo farm within Hacienda Esmeralda. FrontStreet's Red Label Geisha coffee beans from Hacienda Esmeralda use the most traditional and primitive natural processing method, enhancing the overall coffee beans' sweetness and the richness of the mouthfeel.

FrontStreet Coffee Emerald Estate Red Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Region: Boquete, Panama

Estate: Emerald Estate

Plot: Mario

Altitude: 1700+m

Variety: Geisha

Processing method: Natural

In order to preserve more of the floral and fruity aromas of this Geisha coffee, FrontStreet adopted a medium-light roast level when developing the roasting profile. Therefore, when brewing, FrontStreet's baristas use the following parameters:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90°C

Coffee dose: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: 80% pass rate on China standard No. 20 sieve

During brewing, FrontStreet recommends a three-stage pour to enhance the coffee's layers and the richness of its flavors. In addition, because FrontStreet Coffee ships coffee beans freshly roasted within 5 days, FrontStreet recommends a blooming step.

Pour in 30 g of hot water and bloom for 30 seconds to help the carbon dioxide in the coffee grounds escape, reducing the coffee's "harsh" feel.

Pour from the center point, slowly circling outward, then slowly circle back from the outer ring to the inner ring, repeating until the total poured water reaches 125 g.

When the water level in the dripper drops to the point where the coffee bed is about to be exposed, repeat the second step until the total poured water reaches 225 g and the total extraction time is about 2 minutes.

When the Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha brewed with the above brewing parameters and steps from Qianjie is sipped, the berry juice texture is solid and full-bodied, the red floral aroma is rich, and the honey-like sweet aftertaste is long-lasting.

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