We know that Geisha coffee is very delicious and famous, but do you know how Geisha coffee got its name? There are many ways to name coffee: some are named after the producing country or region, some are named after the estate, and Geisha is the name of a coffee variety. Geisha refers to a coffee variety, called Geisha/Gesha in English. Because it happens to share the same name as "geisha" in Japanese, some people call the Geisha variety "geisha," while people in our country transliterated Geisha into "瑰夏" based on the name Geisha. 

Geishais found everywhere, for example: Panama, Ethiopia, Colombia, Costa Rica, and even Yunnan, China has Geisha coffee. Are these coffees all the same variety? Or are there differences? Geisha coffee originated in Ethiopia and became famous at Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama, so what is the difference between Geisha coffee and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee?

The Discovery of Geisha
 
The Geisha variety was discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia, and then sent to a coffee research institute in Kenya; in 1936 it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania, in 1953 Costa Rica introduced it, and in Panama in the 1970s Mr. Francisco Serracin received seeds from CATIE in Costa Rica and began growing Geisha coffee. In fact, back then Daniel continuously cupped different harvest batches and noted the flavor of each batch, and only then did he notice that one batch had a somewhat unique flavor. The only way to find the difference was to compare batch by batch.

After identifying the batch, he then went back to find the harvest date and harvest area of that batch on the estate, and once again comprehensively reviewed the batch information, finally concluding the exact harvest location of the batch and tracing the confirmed position of the harvest site. After confirming the location, he began observing the appearance of the coffee tree, leaves, and fruit one by one, and only then discovered Geisha. It was not as outsiders rumored. Simply put, it was through several times more effort and persistence than others that this legendary famous variety came to be known.

Geisha coffee went from an unknown plant to worldwide fame, and has also been introduced and planted by estates in many coffee-producing countries. This journey has truly not been easy. Ethiopia is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa, and is also one of the most populous countries in the world.

Ethiopia is honored as the birthplace of coffee—Arabica—and possesses rich native varieties and a broad gene pool, with many varieties that cannot be found in other countries. Most Ethiopian coffee is grown by smallholders on their own small estates or in wild or semi-wild environments. Nearly 15 million people nationwide participate in the industry of growing and processing coffee beans. As the birthplace of the Arabica coffee variety, the history of consuming coffee can be traced back as far as the 10th century. The first African nomadic peoples who consumed coffee fruit (coffee cherries) mixed coffee beans, oil, and spices to make a food that refreshed them and replenished their energy.

EthiopiaYirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe coffeeThe producing region is a specialty coffee region in Ethiopia, and also a famous coffee region. Yirgacheffe is located in Ethiopia on the African continent. Yirgacheffe is a small town within Gedeo. In Yirgacheffe, "Yirga" means "to settle down," and "cheffe" refers to wetland, so Yirgacheffe means "let us settle in this wetland." Yirgacheffe's altitude is quite high, reaching 1700-2200 meters, with low average temperatures. Coffee grows and ripens over a longer period, and therefore absorbs more aromatic substances, making the flavor of the coffee fruit more intense.

The Yirgacheffe producing region is mainly based on smallholder farming. Farmers plant coffee trees in their backyards. Since coffee cannot bring income year-round, it is mixed with other crops, which can also appropriately provide some shade for the coffee trees. When the harvest season arrives, farmers bag the ripe coffee cherries and sell them to cooperatives for processing, and later the green coffee beans are sold in the name of the cooperative. This is why we often see coffee beans named after cooperatives.

The Yirgacheffe producing region currently has a total of 28 member cooperatives, and many of them are already familiar to us, such as Konga Cooperative, Worka Cooperative, and Konga Cooperative. Here we must mention the washed processing technique of Yirgacheffe cooperatives. Front Street believes that a large part of Yirgacheffe's flavor should be attributed to washed processing.

The coffee beans from Front Street's Yirgacheffe producing region were initially mainly processed by the most traditional natural method, and only later was the washed processing method introduced. For example, Front Street Red Cherry is processed by sun-drying ripe coffee cherries. This Front Street naturally processed Yirgacheffe coffee has slightly larger beans. Coffee from this processing plant is considered a high-quality representative of Yirgacheffe, and its flavor always carries classic floral notes and lemon flavors.

Front Street has sourced more than a dozen coffees from Ethiopia as a producing country, because the coffee flavors of different Ethiopian producing regions are all different. In order to let coffee friends taste more of the coffee flavors from coffee's place of origin in Ethiopia, Front Street sourced quite a few coffee beans from different producing regions.

Although Geisha coffee comes from Ethiopia, what is the difference between it and Yirgacheffe coffee?

First, the variety is different.

Geisha coffee is a coffee of the Geisha variety. The Geisha variety was discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia, and was later sent to a coffee research institute in Kenya. During this period, the Geisha variety was also introduced to Uganda and Tanzania. In 1953, Costa Rica also introduced Geisha. It was not until the 1970s that Geisha seeds took root in Panama. It can be said that the Geisha coffee we drink now has come to us with great difficulty.

Yirgacheffe belongs to a producing region in Ethiopia. Most of the coffee produced there is local native variety, also called Heirloom native variety. Generally, one can see that the size and shape of the beans are not uniform, because multiple varieties may be mixed in. This is because Ethiopia is a gene treasury of coffee beans, with truly too many variety types, making identification and classification very difficult. In addition, the local government chooses not to disclose this variety information for protection reasons, so they are collectively called native varieties.

In addition, the flavor of Geisha coffee in Ethiopia and in Panama is also different, mainly affected by the growing environment and climate. Although Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and is also very suitable for coffee growth, Geisha variety coffee has extremely picky requirements for its growing environment: it needs both shade trees and high altitude, fertile soil brought by volcanoes, forest cultivation, rainfall and sunlight, fine manual management... it can be said that none can be missing. It is precisely because Panama's environment and farm owners possessed the above conditions that they were able to grow the Geisha flavor that is now renowned internationally.

Panama

Panama is located in Central America, and beside it are also high-quality coffee-producing countries: Costa Rica on the left, and Colombia neighboring it on the right. The local mountain range runs horizontally from east to west. Cold air flows through the central mountain range and gathers above 6,500 feet in altitude, forming a unique microclimate in the Boquete and Candela areas. The temperature here is comfortable and the rainfall is abundant, making it very suitable for the growth of various plants.

Geisha coffee trees need to grow in an environment with clouds and mist or shade from plants, and cannot be directly exposed to the sun. In the Boquete producing region, the mountain range is often covered by clouds and mist, humid during the day and cool at night. Together with the fertile soil brought by Baru Volcano, these are all favorable conditions for growing high-quality coffee like Geisha.

The higher the planting altitude, the longer the Geisha coffee fruit takes to mature, the more nutrients it absorbs, and the richer and more unique its flavor expression becomes. Geisha grown at high altitude has intense floral aromas, full juice-like body, bright acidity, and a smooth mouthfeel. Its rich flavor layers are far superior to batches grown at low altitude.

Hacienda La Esmeralda

Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda is both the discoverer of the Geisha coffee variety and its promoter.

Hacienda La Esmeralda has the highest reputation. Its coffee mainly comes from three farms under it: El Velo, Canas Verdes, and Jaramillo. In order to precisely manage coffee cultivation, Hacienda La Esmeralda separately cups coffee beans from different areas within the estate, determines planting plots according to altitude, and thus created the Geisha grades we know as Esmeralda Red Label and Esmeralda Green Label.

Elida Estate

Elida Estate has a century-old history of coffee cultivation. It was founded by the Lamastus family in 1918, and the estate owner has now been passed down to the fourth generation. More than half of Elida's planting area is located within the highest Baru Volcano National Park in Central America. The microclimate brought by the volcano and the high-altitude growing environment allow plants to grow excellently. In addition to coffee, many rare high-altitude fruit varieties are also grown here.

Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Front Street Yirgacheffe coffee beans initially used the most traditional natural processing method, and later introduced the washed processing method. The better-known ones are Front Street Natural Red Cherry Coffee and Front Street Washed Yirgacheffe Coffee. As for Geisha coffee, it also includes both natural and washed, such as: Hacienda La Esmeralda's Front Street Washed Green Label Geisha Coffee, Front Street Natural Red Label Geisha Coffee, and Front Street Washed Boquete Geisha Coffee.

Front Street Brewing Parameters:

Since both Front Street Yirgacheffe coffee beans and Front Street Geisha coffee beans use light roasting, brewing requires hot water at 92°C to stimulate the floral and fruity notes in the coffee. For grind size, Front Street recommends medium-fine grinding (80% passing through a Chinese standard No. 20 sieve). Too coarse cannot extract rich substances, and the brewed coffee will taste thin. Too fine is prone to over-extraction at high water temperature, and the brewed coffee will easily taste bitter and astringent.

The specific brewing parameters used by Front Street are: V60 dripper, water temperature 91°C, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, coffee dose 15g, medium-fine grind (80% passing through a Chinese standard No. 20 sieve).

Front Street's staged extraction method: First, use 30g of water to fully wet the coffee bed into a "hamburger" shape and bloom for 30s; in the second pour, at 1'00" on the timer, pour water until it reaches 125g, then stop and wait for the water level to drop to 2/3 of the coffee bed before pouring the third stage; in the third stage, at 1'40" on the timer, pour water until it reaches 225g. After the coffee liquid has fully dripped through, the total extraction time is 1'59". The total brewing time is 2'00". After extraction is complete, gently swirl, and wait until the coffee liquid is fully even before tasting.

Front Street Washed Yirgacheffe Konga Coffee Flavor:Lemon, floral notes, orange, sugarcane. Overall clean and refreshing, with a sweet finish featuring honey flavors and an oolong tea aftertaste.

Front Street Natural Red Cherry Coffee Flavor Characteristics:Lemon, licorice, citrus, berries, sweet orange. Overall sweetness is relatively high, with a sweet finish featuring caramel and cream flavors, and an aftertaste with black tea aroma.

Front Street Panama Washed BoqueteGeisha Coffee Flavor Characteristics:Clear acidity of citrus, lemon, and bergamot, with a creamy smooth mouthfeel when swallowed, and a sweet finish of green tea and honey.

Front Street Panama Natural Elida Coffee Flavor Characteristics:Fermentation aroma, roses, berries, citrus, green tea, cream, nuts.

Although Geisha coffee is delicious, not everyone will necessarily like it. After all, everyone has different tastes. Perhaps some people like the fresh, delicate floral notes and bright fruity acidity of Ethiopia; some like the piney, herbal, nutty notes of Indonesian Mandheling; and some like the grape honey processing flavors of Costa Rica's Front Street Mirazu Coffee or Front Street Mozart Coffee from special processing methods... In short, beans still need to be chosen according to what you like to be most suitable~

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