How Did Geisha Coffee Beans Rise at Hacienda La Esmeralda?
Hacienda La Esmeralda, a farm in Panama's Boquete region, brought Geisha coffee beans to global attention. The Peterson family bought the estate in 1967 and ran it as a dairy ranch while keeping the old coffee plots. In 2004, the farm won a reliable of Panama competition with Geisha, and its auction lot set a record of $21 per pound.
Beyond Geisha, the estate grows Typica, Caturra, Catuai, and Bourbon, and it built its own washing plant in 1994. Geisha coffee from Boquete is known for jasmine, peach, and orange notes tied to the area's terroir. The 2002 decision by Daniel Peterson to separate lots by growing area helped reveal those distinct flavors.
Hacienda La Esmeralda is a legendary coffee estate in the Boquete region of Panama, and it is here that the Geisha variety rose to the world stage. From the Peterson family's purchase in 1967 as a retirement ranch, to winning the BOP championship in 2004 with Geisha and setting an auction record of $21 per pound, Hacienda La Esmeralda has written a brilliant chapter in the history of specialty coffee. This article will outline the estate's planting and development history, its main cultivated varieties, the terroir conditions of the Boquete region, and the signature flavors of jasmine, peach, and orange that Geisha presents. It will also introduce the various batches of Hacienda La Esmeralda products recommended by the Front Street brand, giving you a comprehensive understanding of this world-class star estate.
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Introduction:
In November 1967, Rudolph A. Peterson (1904-2003), a Swedish-American banker born in California and president of the Bank of America, purchased Hacienda La Esmeralda from Swedish immigrant Hans Elliot, who had built it, intending to use it as his retirement residence. Hacienda La Esmeralda is a historic farm located in the Palmira area of the Boquete region. After changing hands to Peterson in November 1967, it was used as a retirement residence and operated as a dairy ranch.
In 1973, old Rudolph's son Price Peterson took over the management of the estate. Price was born in 1936, grew up and studied in the United States, and earned a PhD in neurochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1973, he moved back to his hometown of Boquete with his wife Susan Duff and their two children Erik and Rachel to Hacienda La Esmeralda. Old Rudolph's second son, Daniel Peterson, was born here in 1974. Although the farm was mainly dairy under the Peterson family's management, the original old coffee plots were always retained, and after 1987 it gradually transformed into a coffee estate. In 1994, the estate even established its own coffee processing washing plant to process the coffee cherries harvested from the plots. In addition to Geisha, the varieties planted on the estate include Typica, Caturra, Catuai, and Bourbon.
2002 was a turning point for the Esmeralda farm. Mr. Peterson's youngest son, Daniel Peterson, believed that the coffee produced from the entire Esmeralda farm (the estate's two major coffee-growing areas—the original Hacienda La Esmeralda southwest of Boquete and the Jaramillo area newly incorporated in 1996) had always been harvested and sold as a blend. Although the overall quality was rated well, the quality and flavor were not equivalent. That uniquely elegant citrus-sweet fruity aroma should come from a specific block within the farm. So he began cupping and comparing each planting block in the estate one by one, and finally found excellent cup flavors in several valleys at higher elevations in the Jaramillo plot. In 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda entered these special coffees in the Best of Panama-BOP cupping competition. Geisha's unique aroma and full body amazed the judges, winning the championship title of "Best of Panama" in one stroke, and setting a historic record at that year's auction of $21 dollars a pound! This competition brought great attention to Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee in the specialty coffee world! Since then, it has won the BOP crown many times in succession.
After the Peterson family took over this farm, they purchased and added 60 hectares of the Jaramillo planting area, part of which had been used for dairy farming. After several major renovations of the entire farm, many blocks that were later planted with coffee only gradually came into harvest in 2003-2004. In 2002, the Peterson family's son Daniel Peterson proposed a new idea: not all production areas would have a similar good flavor, but rather several blocks had more special flavors. So he began cupping the coffee beans from the entire estate. Ultimately, he found this special coffee flavor in a small valley block at the estate's highest elevation—the coffee beans that would sell for the highest price at Hacienda La Esmeralda: Esmeralda Special. Coffee beans from other blocks were also of good quality, but not as astonishingly impressive as "Esmeralda Special." We understand that "Esmeralda Special" requires the combination of many factors to produce the top-quality coffee of small-block micro-lots, and of course its quantity accounts for only a very small proportion of this estate.
Panama
Population: 3406000
The definition of coffee in the Panama region is based on how the coffee is produced, rather than on geographical divisions. In the past, when coffee was more widely planted, and when the areas listed below were still smaller and more closely clustered, the coffee beans produced could be combined as a single unit.
BOQUETE Production Region
The Boquete production region is the most famous Panamanian production area. Its mountainous terrain creates many microclimates. The relatively cool weather and frequent fog help slow the ripening of coffee cherries, and some people consider this similar to a high-altitude climate.
Altitude: 400-1,900m
Harvest: December to March
Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Geisha, San Ramon
VOLCAN-CANDELA
The Volcan Piedra Candela area produces most of Panama's food and some amazing coffee. The production area is named after the Baru volcano and the town of Piedra Candela, and the region borders Costa Rica.
Altitude: 1,200-1,600m Harvest: December——March
Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Geisha, San Ramon
RENACIMIENTO
Renacimiento is a production area in Chiriqui Province, bordering Costa Rica. This area itself is relatively small, so it is not a major specialty coffee production area in Panama.
Altitude: 1,100-1,500m
Harvest: December to March
Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Geisha, San Ramon
Introduction to Hacienda La Esmeralda
Hacienda La Esmeralda is located on the Volcano Baru mountain range in the Boquete region of western Panama. The estate's coffee cherries grow in the fertile volcanic soil and cool climate of the Boquete region.
Panama is near the equator, and the country has a tropical climate. Because of its high altitude, plus the greater temperature differences caused by Hacienda La Esmeralda's local terrain and microclimate, the estate is very cold in both morning and evening. Half of their carefully tended coffee farm is located within forest reserves or national park areas, and they are firmly committed to sustainable agricultural practices and social responsibility. Because of their care and special attention to the natural environment, Hacienda La Esmeralda's coffee is Rain Forest Alliance Certified (RFA).
The Geisha variety was first discovered at Hacienda La Esmeralda in 2003. Hacienda La Esmeralda is currently jointly managed by the third generation, Rachel and Daniel. Daniel is the discoverer who made the Geisha variety popular worldwide. Daniel and his sister Rachel cup and record each batch of harvested coffee cherries, analyzing the flavors between different planting sites and different batches. One day, Daniel noticed that one batch of coffee had the unique botanical floral aroma of the estate and a brighter, richer mouthfeel. After checking one by one, he finally discovered that this unique aroma and flavor came from the Geisha variety, opening the colorful prelude to the Geisha variety, and Hacienda La Esmeralda also took the first step toward becoming a world-class star estate.
The Geisha variety, in Taiwan and even globally, has become synonymous with top-flavor specialty coffee. Good Geisha beans have obvious "flavor characteristics." They carry exotic floral aromas such as jasmine and peach-orange, with a distinct and delicate fragrance, and are considered one of the best coffees in the world.
To this day in the world of specialty coffee, everyone knows that Geisha originated from Hacienda La Esmeralda, and Hacienda La Esmeralda has gained countless firsts because of this Geisha variety, as follows:
Awards
Since 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda has gone on to win a great number of major coffee industry awards and to set several online coffee auction price records.
1ST PLACE RECORD
Around June every year is Hacienda La Esmeralda's independent auction time (only Geisha varieties are auctioned) (one of the few estates in the world that can openly let everyone bid online). This year, as usual, overall prices generally increased (http://auction.stoneworks.com/ES2016/final_results.php). This year Taiwan won very many lots, which is really impressive.
The items from Hacienda La Esmeralda that are more commonly seen in Taiwan:
1. Hacienda La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain Washed (Varieties: Typica, Bourbon, Catuai)
2. Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha, mainly divided into 3 batches
High-altitude (Red Label) batch (auction batch) 1600——1800 meters, cupping score above 90
High-altitude (Green Label) batch: 1600——1800 meters
Medium-high altitude (Blue Label) batch: 1500 meters
Introduction to Hacienda La Esmeralda:
In 1996, the Price Peterson family bought a coffee farm north of Boquete in the Jaramillo production area, later naming it Pequea Suecia (Little Sweden) in memory of their homeland. This coffee farm is located east of Volcan Barú, with a cool climate and drifting mountain mist. This newly incorporated coffee farm of Hacienda La Esmeralda, as Mr. Peterson described, has a very good altitude and climate (1450-1700m). The coffee beans it produces exude an extremely elegant citrus-like delicate fragrance after roasting. Interestingly, this old farm has coffee trees of various varieties left by past owners over the years.
2002 was a turning point for the Esmeralda farm, thanks to Mr. Peterson's youngest son, Daniel Peterson. He believed that the coffee produced from the entire Esmeralda farm (the estate's two major coffee-growing areas—the original Hacienda La Esmeralda southwest of Boquete and the Jaramillo production area newly incorporated in 1996) had always been harvested and sold as a blend. Although the overall quality evaluation was good, it was not necessarily of equal quality and flavor. That extremely elegant citrus fruity aroma and sweetness should come from certain excellent coffees within the farm. So he began cupping and comparing each planting block in the estate one by one, and finally discovered in several valleys at higher elevations within the Jaramillo plot that the coffee harvested from these tall, thin, low-yielding coffee trees had excellent cup flavor. After some inquiry, he learned that these varieties, which thrive at high altitude and low temperature, were the later famous GEISHA. In 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda entered these special coffees in the Best of Panama-BOP cupping competition. Geisha's unique aroma and full body amazed the judges, winning the championship title of "Best of Panama" and setting a historic record at that year's auction of USD. $21 dollars a pound! This competition brought Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee enormous attention in the specialty coffee world! It then went on to win the BOP crown in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010.
Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda is already the most awarded coffee estate in the world——
ESMERALDA SPECIAL Award Record:
1st Place Specialty Coffee Association of America Roasters Guild Cupping Pavilion (2007, 2006, 2005)
2nd Place Coffee of The Year (2009, 2008)
1st Place “Best of Panama” (2010, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004)
1st Place Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004)
About Hacienda La Esmeralda - The old Hacienda La Esmeralda is located in Palmira Boquete and was built by Swedish immigrant Mr. Hans Elliot. It was purchased by Mr. Rudolph A. Peterson in November 1967 and operated as a dairy ranch. In 1973, old Rudolph's son Price Peterson took over management. Price Peterson was born in 1936. Price grew up in the United States and during his studies earned a PhD in neurochemistry from U. Penn (University of Pennsylvania). In 1973, he moved with his wife Mrs. Susan Duff and their two children Erik and Rachel to Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, and Daniel was the second son born here in 1974. Although the farm was mainly dairy under the Peterson family's management, the original old coffee plots also always existed. After 1987 it gradually transformed into a coffee estate. In 1994, it even established the estate's own coffee processing washing plant to process the coffee cherries harvested from the plots. The varieties planted on the estate also include Typica, Caturra, Catuai, and Bourbon.
Award Record: (The following is the award record of Hacienda La Esmeralda:)
Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Annual Cupping Competition Champion)
1st Place Specialty Coffee Association of America
Roasters Guild Cupping Pavilion)
Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Annual Cupping Competition Second Place)
2nd Place Coffee of the Year)
Best of Panama Champion,)
1st Place “Best of Panama”,)
Rainforest A Coffee Quality Cupping Competition Champion,)
1st Place Rainforest A for Quality,)
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
