If Geisha is likened to a thousand-li horse, then Hacienda Esmeralda is undoubtedly the Bo Le who recognized its worth. It was Hacienda Esmeralda that discovered Geisha's potential and introduced its deliciousness to the world at the 2004BOP, which is why Geisha has become the top variety in today's specialty coffee scene. It's fair to say that without Hacienda Esmeralda, Geisha might have taken many more years to successfully "debut."After Hacienda Esmeralda successfully "made Geisha famous," they began strict, refined cultivation and management of this variety and introduced a dedicated grading system. The familiar "Red Label Geisha" and "Green Label Geisha" are different grades of Geisha separated by Hacienda Esmeralda, and these two Geishasare sold both at Front Street's offline stores and online Taobao/Tmall stores.However, because their prices differ by more than double, many friends are curious: "They're both Geisha from Hacienda Esmeralda—what exactly is the difference between Green Label and Red Label, which differ by more than double in price?" This is a question Front Street customer service frequently receives.First, we need to understand that whether it's Red Label or Green Label, the various colored "labels" we commonly see in coffee are mostly just consumers' shorthand for these products. What does that mean?It means these "labels" are not actually the names of the products themselves; they refer to the trademarks corresponding to the products. When Hacienda Esmeralda graded its products, it also created corresponding trademarks for differentiation, and the biggest difference between each product's trademark is their color.The so-called "Red Label" refers to Hacienda Esmeralda'sregularlysold products' highest-grade Geisha(excluding auction lots). Its name is Esmeralda Special(翡翠特选), and its trademark is primarily red; while Green Label refers to a trademark whose color is primarily green, a grade of Geisha below Red Label in Hacienda Esmeralda's product line, with the name Private Collection, which translates to private collection.As Front Street has introduced, Red Label is Hacienda Esmeralda's highest-grade Geisha aside from auction lots. They are grown at altitudes above 1,600 meters, have a cupping score of no less than 91 points, come from a single plot, and have very detailed traceability information.All Red Labels carry an independent lot number, from which we can read very detailed traceability information about the specific plot where that Red Label was grown, including altitude, day-night temperature difference, latitude and longitude, tree age, harvest time, number of harvests, processing method, total output, and more.Green Label-grade Geisha, on the other hand, is grown at altitudes ranging from 1,600 to 1,800 meters, with only two traditional processing options available: natural and washed. Moreover, it is Geisha from each estate harvested as a blend; compared to Red Label, it lacks such detailed traceability information—and this is the biggest difference between it and Red Label!What does that mean?Hacienda Esmeralda has three sub-estates: Jaramillo,Cañas Verdes, and El Velo. Each estate is further divided into multiple plots—6, 11, and 7 respectively, totaling 24. Every Red Label Geisha comes from a single plot, whileGreen Label Geishais a product made by harvesting Geisha from all plots of each estate and blending them together for sale. That should be easy to understand~Now that we know their grading differences, the next question is how their flavors differ. As it happens, Front Street has just acquired a new-crop washed Red Label Geisha from the Jaramillo Mario plot, so next we'll compare it with the Front Street washed Green Label Geisha from Front Street's bean list to see exactly how Geishas whose prices differ by more than double differ in taste~(Green Label on the left, Red Label on the right)To better highlight the coffee's floral and fruity notes, Front Street used a medium-light roast profile to roast these two beans. Since the roast level is similar and the processing method is the same, the parameters Front Street used for brewing here are also identical! As follows:Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15Grind setting:Ek43's 10 setting, 80% pass-through rate on a No. 20 sieve, fine granulated sugarBrewing water temperature: 92°CThe brewing method is no different from usual:First, we pour twice the coffee's weight in water for a 30-second bloom; after the bloom, we pour the second pour of hot water at a moderate flow rate. This pour totals 120ml, poured from the center and then slowly spiraling outward. After reaching the outer ring, we continue pouring in circles until the target amount is reached; the third pour is timed after the water from the second pour has fully drained. We use a smaller stream to pour all of the remaining 75ml of hot water in small circles, and once the water in the dripper has fully drained, we can remove the dripper and end the extraction.Because the beans are denser and drain more slowly, both cups' extraction times were around 2 minutes 15 seconds. And how did they taste... honestly, there is a certain difference, but not as big as everyone might imagine.The flavor profile of Esmeralda Green Label is white florals, citrus, honey, and an oolong tea note, with some caramel and melon sweetness. The overall taste is balanced, the mouthfeel smooth and rounded, with a long finish, like drinking a cup of fruity jasmine tea; while Esmeralda Red Label's flavor profile is much the same—also floral and fruity, with jasmine, berries, citrus, oolong tea... likewise like drinking a cup of fruity floral tea, but its overall mouthfeel is cleaner and its flavors clearer.Unless you're someone who drinks Red Label and Green Label regularly as everyday beans, it's nearly impossible to tell which is which when tasting blind. And this is actually understandable—after all, they are coffees grown on the same land, and when the variety, terroir, and processing are all identical, it's hard for very big differences to emerge. So this is also why Green Label is often called Hacienda Esmeralda's current best-value Geisha(originally it was Blue Label, but Hacienda Esmeralda has discontinued the Blue Label product line).So the above is the difference between Hacienda Esmeralda's Green Label and Red Label Geisha. If you'd like to try a relatively classic Geisha flavor, Front Street's Hacienda Esmeralda Green Label washed Geisha, or the Front Street Boquete washed Geisha from Front Street's bean list, would both be excellent choices~
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
