The results of the Best of Panama green bean competition have been announced, and Hacienda La Esmeralda has won the championships in the Geisha Natural, Geisha Washed, and Varietal categories, becoming this year's grand slam winner. The winning lots will be auctioned globally on August 7 at 7:00 Beijing time. This article will take you deep into the history of this legendary Panamanian estate, the plot divisions of its three farms, the grading logic and flavor differences of the red, green, and blue labels, as well as the complete processes of washed and natural processing methods. At the same time, Front Street Coffee will also share brewing parameters and flavor descriptions for three Esmeralda Geishas, helping coffee lovers gain a comprehensive understanding of this top Geisha brand.

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Not long ago, the green bean competition "Best of Panama," which drew great attention from the coffee industry, came to a successful conclusion, and the results were released simultaneously. The familiar Hacienda La Esmeralda won three championships—Geisha Natural, Geisha Washed, and Varietal—making it the biggest winner of this year's competition. As for the winning lots on the list, they will officially go up for auction two months later on August 7 at 7:00 Beijing time.

Next, let Front Street take you through a detailed look at this famous Panamanian estate that swept multiple major awards this year, and what kind of background it has.

Hacienda La Esmeralda, Panama

Panama is located in Central America. As is widely known, the Panama Canal was built by the United States, and for quite a long period after its completion it was also managed solely by the United States. It was precisely because of the canal's construction that a large number of American elites moved south at the end of the twentieth century, both for work needs and to seek business opportunities. Hacienda La Esmeralda was a product of that era.

In 1964, American banker Rudolph Peterson retired and moved to Panama, where he bought Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, initially focusing on dairy farming. Later, his son Price gave up his career as a doctor to help his father manage the farm, and in 1987 introduced two coffee varieties, Caturra and Catuai. In 1994, a washed processing plant was built, and from then on they had their own coffee processing facilities. In 1996, they also purchased the neighboring Jaramillo estate—which had superior geographical conditions and original coffee varieties with outstanding flavor—and it was subsequently incorporated into Hacienda La Esmeralda.

The reason the Petersons father and son favored the Jaramillo estate was precisely that the coffee beans originally planted there had a pleasant orange aroma and floral-fruity notes, completely different from the conventional flavor of Panamanian coffee. After cupping coffee beans from various areas of the estate, they discovered some unknown coffee trees growing at the highest point of the estate. Because of extremely low yield, the previous owner had used them only as windbreak trees, but the Petersons uncovered them and decided to plant and cultivate the coffee trees in that area separately. This is the Geisha coffee now well known to coffee lovers.

After this coffee bean participated in the Panama green bean competition BOP in 2004 and won the championship, it performed astonishingly all the way. Later, expert identification confirmed that it belonged to the Ethiopian Geisha variety. After that, the Peterson family devoted most of its energy to infrastructure construction to support excellent lot separation and refined processing—that is, the red label, green label, and blue label mentioned by Front Street above.

Plot divisions of Hacienda La Esmeralda

As Front Street mentioned earlier, Hacienda La Esmeralda is located in the Boquete production area of Panama. This production area is an important coffee-producing region in Panama, and many well-known estates come from here, such as Elida Estate and Kotowa Estate. Since discovering the treasure that is Geisha coffee, Hacienda La Esmeralda has divided Geisha plots with great precision, mainly into three farms: Jaramillo, Canas Verdes, and El Velo. Each farm is further subdivided into smaller plots.

High-quality Geisha mainly comes from the two plots Jaramillo and Canas Verdes.

Jaramillo

Annual rainfall 4000 ml, average daytime temperature 19-25°C, average nighttime temperature 11-15°C, average altitude 1600-1700 m. The Jaramillo plot is divided into 5 small plots: Mario, Noria, Reina, Bosque, and Buenos Aires.

Canas Verdes

Annual rainfall 3500 ml, average daytime temperature 16-23°C, average nighttime temperature 10-15°C, average altitude 1600-1800 m. It contains a total of 9 small plots: Lino, Coronado, Fundador, León, Montaña, Trapiche, Chinta, Cabaña, and Tumaco.

El Velo is the newest farm purchased by Hacienda La Esmeralda, with an average altitude of 1700-1900 m. In addition to planting Geisha and Catuai, this plot also has a small number of other introduced varieties, such as Laurina, Pacamara, Mocha, and SL28. El Velo is divided into a total of 7 small plots: Guabo, Portón, Durazno, Mural, Higo, Buena Vista, and Guila.

Grading standards for Hacienda La Esmeralda red label, green label, and blue label

As Front Street mentioned earlier, Hacienda La Esmeralda has strict grade divisions for the coffee beans produced on the estate, which also distinguishes its marketing strategy from other estates. Based on cupping performance, planted variety, and planting plot, the estate divides its products into five major brands, among which the Geisha variety occupies three: Esmeralda Special (red label), Private Collection (green label), and Geisha 1500 (blue label). The Catuai variety has two brands: Diamond Mountain and Palmira.

Hacienda La Esmeralda red label Geisha

The Geisha produced under Esmeralda Special is what we commonly call red label. It uses Geisha beans grown at an altitude of 1600-1800 meters, with a cupping score above 90, from the two production areas Jaramillo and Canas Verdes.

Moreover, only Geisha lots that participate in the estate's own independent auction and are put up for bidding from divided plots can truly count as auction red label. However, there are also non-auction red labels on the market, which are in fact Geisha selected from the same plots that did not participate in the auction and then circulated to the market. The variety quality is the same, with differences only in selling price. This grade of Geisha uses natural or washed processing, and the flavor has a special and bright floral aroma and citrus notes.

Front Street Coffee: Panama · Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Country: Panama Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda) Altitude: 1700 m Variety: Geisha Processing Method: Natural Flavor: Citrus, mixed fruits, rose tea, honey

Hacienda La Esmeralda green label Geisha

Private Collection, commonly known as green label, does not belong to an independent competition lot. It is a Geisha variety that does not participate in auctions but still has excellent quality. It uses micro-lots blended from different plots such as Jaramillo and Canas Verdes, grown at an altitude of 1600-1800 meters. Because it adopts a blended-bean model and is not labeled in detail by plot, there are sometimes cases where green label and red label have very similar flavors, but the next release may be different again.

Although green label is not as high a grade as red label, it still carries the classic flavors of Geisha: floral aroma, fruity aroma, citrus acidity, and a thick, juicy mouthfeel. Green label Geisha is likewise available in washed or natural processing. Because its elevation standard is the same as red label, only harvested as a blend, Front Street Coffee considers it a grade with relatively outstanding value for money within Hacienda La Esmeralda. The lot we obtained is washed processing.

Front Street Coffee: Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Green Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Country: Panama Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda) Altitude: 1700 m Variety: Geisha Processing Method: Natural Flavor: Jasmine, citrus, honeydew, berries

Hacienda La Esmeralda blue label Geisha

The brand Geisha 1500 is what we commonly know as blue label Geisha. It uses blended beans from different plots—Jaramillo, Canas Verdes, and El Velo—grown at an altitude of 1400-1500 meters. The flavor shows slight floral notes, fruity acidity, and sweetness, with a relatively thin mouthfeel. At present, blue label Geisha includes both washed and natural beans, among which the natural lot was introduced only in small batches at the end of 2019.

Front Street Coffee: Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Washed Blue Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Country: Panama Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda) Altitude: 1400-1500 m Variety: Geisha Processing Method: Washed Flavor: Lemon, oolong tea, cane sugar, peach

It can thus be seen that the biggest difference among these three labels lies in altitude. Front Street's previous articles also mentioned that coffee beans grown at higher altitudes usually have better flavor, so the quality of red label and green label is superior to blue label. However, the difference between green label Geisha and red label Geisha is that its coffee beans are harvested as a blend, while red label Geisha coffee beans are clearly labeled by plot and participate in auctions, so there is a relatively large price gap. But Front Street believes that the flavor difference between red label and green label is not obvious, so green label offers much better value for money. Therefore, Front Street suggests that coffee fans who like Geisha coffee beans but have a limited budget may want to try green label Geisha.

In addition, Front Street has learned that Geisha coffee has a peculiar characteristic: when grown in extremely harsh environments, its flavor expression is instead even better. This also means that Geisha coffee is especially difficult to harvest and has extremely low yield. Not every estate can grow delicious Geisha coffee; rather, sufficient conditions and equipment are needed to produce Geisha coffee with excellent flavor. This is also why Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee beans stand out uniquely.

Processing methods for Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha coffee beans

As Front Street mentioned earlier, the processing methods for all three Geisha grades at Hacienda La Esmeralda are the most common washed and natural. The difference between the two is that washed coffee beans are cleaner and brighter in flavor expression and can present the original flavor of the production area, while natural processing adds fermentation and aroma on top of the washed flavor, making the flavor sweeter and more fragrant.

Washed processing method flow

1. First, the coffee farmer pours all harvested coffee cherries into water. In this way, defective coffee beans float to the surface, while qualified coffee cherries sink to the bottom. This operation also greatly reduces the time consumed by selecting bean by bean. 2. The selected coffee cherries are put into a depulper to remove the skin and pulp. After removal, a layer of mucilage still adheres to the surface of the coffee cherries, so a large amount of clean water is needed to wash away the sticky substances on the surface of the coffee cherries.

3. Then fermentation is used to completely remove the mucilage. This process takes about 18 hours, but after fermentation is complete, fermentation bacteria adhere to the surface of the coffee cherries, so they still need to be washed again with a large amount of clean water. For this step alone, obtaining 1 kilogram of coffee beans requires 40 to 50 kilograms of clean water. Front Street considers this a very large number, and it is precisely the reason why arid countries cannot adopt washed processing.

4. The cleaned coffee beans can then be dried. In some regions they are taken directly outdoors to dry, while in some more developed production areas they are sent to processing plants for machine drying, reducing the coffee's moisture content to about 11%. 5. Finally, the dried coffee beans are stored and packaged, and then they can be sold for export.

Natural processing method flow

1. The first step is to pick ripe coffee cherries, then manually sort out defective, overripe, or insect-damaged ones, leaving the good beans. This is also an important factor in why the coffee beans in Front Street's shop have a relatively uniform and attractive appearance.

2. The high-quality cherries that have undergone manual selection are sent to a drying site for drying. Different coffee production areas use different drying racks; some use tarps, raised beds, or concrete floors, and the drying time averages 27-30 days, until the coffee's moisture content drops to 11%, which is considered complete. 3. This step is also relatively critical. After drying is completed, the coffee cherries are sent to a specialized processing plant for depulping and hulling, and may even be polished, causing parts such as the pulp to fall off, before the coffee beans commonly seen in the true sense are obtained.

4. The green coffee beans after depulping undergo another round of sorting to once again remove coffee beans with poor appearance. This is because coffee beans that are over-dried are relatively fragile and will be broken into fragments during depulping, while coffee beans that are under-dried contain too much moisture, and overly active moisture makes the coffee beans prone to bacterial growth and mildew. Therefore, they are only sent to warehouse storage and packaged for export after being sorted again.

The above is the relevant information compiled by Front Street about Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha. Before launching each coffee bean, Front Street conducts a large number of cupping and brewing tests to find the brewing data line for the best flavor and brew it for Front Street's coffee fans. Next, Front Street will share the brewing data for these three Geishas from Hacienda La Esmeralda.

Front Street Coffee Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Coffee Bean Brewing Suggestions: Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90°C Dose: 15 g Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Grind size: medium-fine grind

Front Street Coffee Brewing Method: staged extraction

Use 30 g of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour in a small stream in a circular motion until 125 g, at which point perform a stage break. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225 g and stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Start timing from the beginning of the bloom.) Extraction time is 2'00".

Flavor descriptions of Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha

[Red Label] Bright rose and citrus aroma, brown rice, berries, apricot, mixed fruits, honey, with a thick juicy mouthfeel, rich flavor layers, and obvious sweetness.

[Green Label] On the palate, intense jasmine floral aroma and high sweetness, with citrus, berries, juiciness, cream, green tea, orange peel, and cantaloupe. The overall flavor is richly layered, with a long-lasting floral and citrus finish.

[Blue Label] On the palate, there is a soft acidity of lemon and grapefruit. After the temperature drops slightly, there are oolong tea, honey, and cane sugar returning sweetness. The mouthfeel is relatively clean and bright.

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