How does Panama geisha differ from Ethiopia's Gesha Village?

Panama geisha and Ethiopian Gesha Village geisha share the same variety but not the same cup. The variety was found in Ethiopia's Geisha Forest in 1931, passed through Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and reached Costa Rica by 1953 before shining at Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama. Climate, altitude and processing separate the African and American expressions.

The comparison cups Green Tip geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda against Green Tip geisha from Gesha Village, comparing dry and wet aroma, flavor layers, growing altitude and microclimate. Front Street Coffee also gives its V60 three-stage pouring parameters so drinkers can bring out the sweet-sour layers and floral-fruity aromas of panama geisha coffee at home.

Since the Geisha variety was discovered in the Geisha Forest of Ethiopia in 1931, it traveled through Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, and finally shone brightly at the Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama. This time, Front Street Coffee will conduct a cupping comparison between the Green Tip Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama and the Green Tip Geisha from Gesha Village in Ethiopia, analyzing everything from dry and wet aromas, flavor layers, to growing altitude and microclimate. Although both belong to Geisha, due to differences in climate, altitude, and processing methods between African and American origins, they present completely different flavor directions. This article will also share the three-stage extraction parameters used by Front Street Coffee baristas to brew Geisha with a V60 dripper, helping enthusiasts highlight the sweet and sour layers and floral-fruity aromas of Geisha at home.

The Geisha variety was first discovered in 1931 in the Geisha Forest of Ethiopia, and was subsequently sent to a coffee research institution in Kenya. In 1936, it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania; in 1953, Costa Rica began cultivating it. Front Street Coffee has acquired several Geisha coffee beans, including those from Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama, Gesha Village in Ethiopia, and Costa Rica's Little Candle Estate.

In this article, Front Street mainly shares with everyone Geisha coffee beans from Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama and from Ethiopia. For a long time, Geisha did not receive much attention. It was not until Don Pachi initially brought Geisha from the small town of Gesha in southwestern Ethiopia to Costa Rica, and later Geisha entered Panama along a southern route, where Panama's Esmeralda Estate (Hacienda La Esmeralda) separated it from other varieties and won the national coffee competition championship, that Geisha officially entered the public eye.

So what is the difference between Panama Geisha and Ethiopia Gesha Village Geisha? Front Street believes that many factors affect the flavor of a coffee, with the most important being climate, altitude, and green bean processing methods. Panama is located in North America, while Gesha Village in Ethiopia is located in Africa. The climate differences between the two places are significant, which also means that the Geisha coffee flavors from these two places are destined not to be exactly the same.

Front Street has cupped Geisha coffee beans from Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama and from Ethiopia. When cupping the Gesha Village Geisha, Front Street chose a cost-effective Green Tip Geisha coffee listed by Front Street. Its dry aroma has a very obvious berry scent. After pouring in hot water, the coffee grounds slowly become wet, and at this time there is more of the aroma of ripe fruit. When Front Street began tasting this Green Tip, besides the rich sweet berry aroma, it also had flavor aftertastes of cherry and honey, with the unique fermented aroma brought by the natural processing method. When the coffee cooled, Front Street tasted more berry and caramel flavors, with obvious sweetness, and the aftertaste lingered for a long time.

In order to distinguish how the flavors of these two Geisha coffees differ, Front Street also selected a Green Tip from Panama for cupping. First, 11.3 grams of this Green Tip coffee bean was ground, and hot water at 94°C was poured in. Within these four minutes, the wet aroma of the coffee grounds could be smelled. After four minutes, the crust could be broken, the grounds skimmed, and tasting could begin. Through cupping, Front Street found that the Green Tip from Hacienda La Esmeralda has excellent cleanliness, without any off-flavors, a very smooth mouthfeel, and more prominent floral and tea notes.

The Geisha from Gesha Village leans more toward candied fruit flavors and has higher sweetness. On the one hand, the flavor difference between these two Green Tips also comes from the growing altitude. The Geisha variety in Gesha Village is generally above 1,900 meters, while the highest altitude for Panama Geisha coffee is only around 1,800 meters. Therefore, altitude is also one of the reasons these two coffees produce different flavors.

According to what Front Street has learned, Panama Geisha coffee is grown in the western part of the country, that is, near Costa Rica and close to the Pacific Ocean. The average annual temperature is between 16°C and 25°C, and the average rainfall is about 3,500 millimeters. Geisha coffee is particularly picky about its growing environment, requiring high altitude, cloud cover for shade, fertile soil, and sufficient accumulated heat. Microclimate is the most important resource that makes Panama's unique coffee unparalleled. The east-to-west environment of the Republic of Panama allows cold air currents to flow through the central mountain range and converge above 6,500 feet, thereby creating multiple microclimates in the Boquete and Volcán regions, giving Panama Geisha its unique coffee flavor.

Gori Gesha Forest, the place where the Geisha variety was first discovered. They collected seeds from native Geisha trees, carefully selected them, and sent the seeds to professional institutions for genetic testing, confirming that this is the original collection site of the Panama Geisha variety; subsequently, by studying the plant morphology of the coffee trees, the appearance and size of the coffee beans, and cupping results, they selected the Geisha variety closest to today's Panama Geisha and began raising seedlings. Gesha Village not only grows Geisha, but also a native variety called Illubabor.

Gesha Village has a total area of 471 hectares. Since 2011, the planting area has gradually expanded. As of 2017, the planting area was about 320 hectares, making it one of the largest Geisha estates in the world. In order to better manage and refine the coffee flavors, the estate owner divided Gesha Village Estate into 8 major blocks, and on this basis further numbered each lot internally.

It is worth mentioning that some Geisha estates in certain producing areas may not have very prominent differences between lots because their scale is not large; but for a large estate like Gesha Village, the differences between different plots are equivalent to the differences between small estates and estates. Therefore, the estate owner numbers the plots in great detail, which facilitates later management and flavor traceability.

The western side of the estate is relatively higher in terrain, so the three plots OMA, SURMA, and SHEWA-JIBABU are at slightly higher altitudes, while the southern side has a relatively higher shade ratio, and the northern side has longer sunlight exposure. Among the eight plots, the estate managers choose the most suitable variety for each plot based on microclimate differences such as altitude, soil conditions, and shade conditions, ensuring that each major plot can develop distinct characteristics.

Front Street found that the green beans from Gesha Village are smaller than those from Panama. The washed Geisha green beans have a very beautiful blue-green color, while the natural Geisha green beans have a beautiful greenish-yellow tint, with a warm, jade-like texture. They smell of fresh grass, peach, berries, and the unique milky sweetness of oolong tea that most coffee beans do not have. It seems that aroma and taste really require association, but the faint tea note is something we can clearly perceive.

Front Street Coffee Pour-Over Brewing Method

In order to improve the extraction rate of Geisha coffee and avoid over-extraction while also highlighting the sweet and sour flavor layers, Front Street Coffee baristas use a V60 dripper. The body of the V60 dripper has guide ribs connecting the top and bottom and a large central hole that speeds up the flow of water, while the spiral-shaped vent groove design lengthens the water flow path and increases the contact time between coffee grounds and hot water. Each stream of water converges along the grooves toward the center of the dripper, concentrating the pressure on the coffee grounds and extracting a coffee with richer layers.

Dripper: V60 Water temperature: 91-92°C Dose: 15g Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Grind size: fine granulated sugar size (80% passing a No. 20 sieve)

Three-stage extraction: In the first stage, use 30g of water to bloom for 30 seconds, pouring evenly in circles to form a dome. In the second stage, pour 95g of hot water, and when the coffee bed has dropped by half, begin pouring the third stage of 100g until all the coffee has finished dripping. Note to start pouring from the center point, using a gentle, small stream in circles throughout, to avoid uneven extraction. Finally, after the coffee liquid has finished dripping, gently swirl to even it out, and you can begin tasting the flavors of Geisha starting from high temperature.

Front Street recommends that when using a gooseneck kettle to pour water, do not interrupt the stream, so that the coffee flavor does not escape! At this point, you can taste a delicious cup of Geisha coffee!

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.