What happened to Esmeralda Blue Label Geisha?

Hacienda La Esmeralda added a natural process to its Blue Label Geisha in 2020, then announced that 2021 would keep only the Red Label and Green Label lines, leaving Blue Label unmentioned. A Panamanian Geisha sold as Las Rocas later appeared, and it is understood to be the rebranded Blue Label batch.

Esmeralda splits its labels by elevation and cupping score: Red Label comes from Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes at 1,600 to 1,800 meters and must score 90 points or above. Blue Label sat in a different elevation range, which is why its absence puzzled buyers. The washed Las Rocas lot keeps volcanic-rock character, and a pour-over approach brings out that profile.

In 2020, Hacienda La Esmeralda added a natural process to its Blue Label Geisha, delighting many coffee lovers; however, in 2021 the estate announced that it would retain only the Red Label and Green Label series, and Blue Label seemed to quietly exit the stage. Just as outsiders were speculating, a batch of Panamanian Geisha called Las Rocas quietly appeared on the market. According to Front Street Coffee, this is precisely the rebranded Esmeralda Blue Label batch. This article sorts out the grade divisions and flavor differences among Esmeralda's Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label, reviews the whole story of Blue Label's "disappearance" and "reappearance," and introduces the washed processing characteristics and pour-over approach for this Las Rocas Volcanic Rock Geisha, providing coffee fans who love Blue Label Geisha with a complete reference for purchasing and brewing.

In 2020, Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama—a legendary estate known as the "father of Geisha"—announced that the Blue Label Geisha series would add a natural process option. For coffee lovers at large, this was undoubtedly good news, meaning everyone could finally drink Geisha produced by Hacienda La Esmeralda at a more affordable price.

In the blink of an eye, 2021 arrived, and Hacienda La Esmeralda released another announcement saying that for that year, Geisha would retain only two product lines, Red Label and Green Label, and that it had made more detailed distinctions between the two. But Blue Label, commonly seen in previous years, was not mentioned at all, so the claim that "Blue Label has been cut this year" quickly spread. Not long after, Front Street Coffee also received confirmation: Hacienda La Esmeralda indeed would not release a Blue Label Geisha series in 2021.

This left Front Street somewhat puzzled. Because according to Hacienda La Esmeralda's logic for dividing Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label, Blue Label Geisha is not in the same elevation range as Red and Green Label Geisha at all. The specific distinctions are as follows:

Red Label Geisha Geisha from Esmeralda's special selection, which is what everyone usually calls Red Label. It is grown at an elevation of 1,600 to 1,800 meters, must score 90 points or above in cupping, and the beans come from Geisha batches in the two production areas of Jaramillo and Cañas Verdess.

In the independent auction organized by Hacienda La Esmeralda itself, only the Geisha batches selected from the divided plots to participate in the auction are called auction Red Label. Guests often ask: does auction Red Label taste better, or regular Red Label? In fact, non-auction Red Label and auction Red Label come from the same plots; the only difference is whether they participate in the auction. Front Street Coffee feels there is no need to insist on chasing the auction level. First, the price is indeed on the high side; second, if you just want to try it, regular Red Label is already a very good choice. Geisha of this grade uses natural or washed processing, with flavor expressed as unique and bright floral notes and citrus tones.

Green Label Geisha The Private Collection series, commonly known as Green Label, belongs to batches that do not participate in the independent auction. It is also grown at an elevation of 1,600 to 1,800 meters and is selected from a blend of micro-lot beans from different plots such as Jaramillo and Cañas Verdess.

People often ask what exactly the difference is between Red Label and Green Label. Front Street Coffee gives the most straightforward explanation: Red Label can be traced back to a specific small plot, while Green Label is a blend of beans and cannot be traced. Because it uses a blended-bean model and does not provide detailed plot labeling, Green Label sometimes tastes extremely similar to Red Label, but the next batch may be completely different. Front Street Coffee feels that drinking Green Label is like buying a lottery ticket—maybe the batch you get this time has Red Label-level flavor. Although Green Label is lower in grade than Red Label, it still carries the classic flavors of Geisha: floral notes, fruity notes, citrus-like acidity, and a rich, juicy mouthfeel. Green Label Geisha also offers either washed or natural processing.

Front Street Esmeralda Red Label and Front Street Esmeralda Green Label have long been deeply loved by Geisha fans, so they remain on the bean list year-round. Friends who want to taste them can place orders directly at the Front Street flagship store.

Blue Label Geisha The brand Geisha 1500 is what everyone commonly knows as Blue Label Geisha. It is grown at an elevation of 1,400 to 1,500 meters, and the beans come from blended batches from three different plots: Jaramillo, Cañas Verdess, and El Velo. In terms of flavor, it has slight floral notes, fruity acidity, and sweetness, with a relatively thinner mouthfeel. It also offers both washed and natural processing methods.

That being the case, where did the Blue Label Geisha coffee beans that should have been produced this year go? If they were classified into Red Label and Green Label, that would ruin Hacienda La Esmeralda's reputation; the estate owner would not do something so short-sighted. Could there have been a problem with the Geisha coffee trees this year? Logically, that should not be the case either; otherwise, more than just the Blue Label series would have been affected.

The truth comes to light At the end of September 2021, a Panamanian Geisha labeled "Las Rocas" appeared on the market. From the packaging information, this was a new Geisha brand from Boquete, Panama. But after some investigation by Front Street, it was found that this batch of Geisha coffee beans under the name "Las Rocas" actually came from Hacienda La Esmeralda's Blue Label batch.

It seems Blue Label Geisha did not disappear; it simply changed its vest and continued to appear on the consumer market. This batch of beans uses washed processing, and the processor is still Hacienda La Esmeralda. From this information, it can be seen that the bean quality still maintains the Blue Label standard. Those craving Blue Label Geisha can look forward to it!

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