Hacienda La Esmeralda Panama Geisha
Thanksgiving is right around the corner. For us, it is a day off among the busyness of the holiday season. A respite before the whirlwind that is the month of December. We start off the day with the MEB II Turkey Trot, and then we have plenty of time to cook and bake before family arrives in the evening. There will be time for gratitude, for friends and family and food. I look forward to it.
We have a treat for you this week. This is a coffee that has made quite a splash in the coffee world. I don’t often discuss the different varietals that make up the coffee we drink, but this one is worthy of mention. In very broad terms, there are two main species of coffee plants, robusta and arabica. We source only coffea arabica, which is higher quality.
Within the arabica plant, however, there are a number of different varieties or cultivars. The Celebes Kalossi that we featured last week was a typica, and the Rwanda from the week before was a bourbon. You can read more about the different botany terms in this SCAA article here, or find an overview on Wikipedia here.
I bring up the varieties of coffee, because this week’s coffee is unique. It originated in the Ethiopian town of Gesha, and was planted in Panama in the 50’s as an alternate variety, resistant to leaf rust. In the coffee world it has caused quite a stir in recent years, since the Peterson family, who own Hacienda La Esmeralda, in Boquete Panama, isolated the variety and its special flavor.
This gesha or geisha (either spelling works) has a flavor very different from any other variety the Petersons grew on their extensive acreage. After discovering how unique it was, they processed it as single variety, and it won the Best of Panama (similar to the Cup of Excellence), and the SCAA’s World’s Best Specialty Coffee for several years running. You can read more details in this excellent post, and the Hacienda Esmeralda website here.
This Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha is so sought after, that we have never carried it before. It so impressed the judges in the competitions ten years ago because the taste is so unlike other Central American coffees. It is bright and floral, with strong fruit tones, more like the Ethiopian beans where it originated.
After isolating the geisha as the source of these extraordinary flavors, the Peterson’s took it one step further. They systematically cupped geisha grown at different areas and elevations on their land, and found that the higher grown beans showed even more exquisite characteristics. Over the last seven years they have auctioned their coffee by the area in which it is grown.
This geisha is not their reserve (which has been auctioned at over $100 dollars a pound, green). It is the 1500, meaning that it is grown above that elevation. We are selling it to you for $39.95/lb. Because it is so expensive, we are not brewing it for the free cup (sorry), but we are giving you a coupon for five dollars off a pound. You can use the code geisha variety for your discount in the store–on the website it is already on sale.
Trace roasted this today so that we could all experience it. It was a treat to taste: dancing in your mouth with herbal and citrus tones. As it cooled it had a depth of flavor, with dried fruit notes coming to the forefront. It is very reminiscent of the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe that we carry. It is completely different than any other Panama coffee that we’ve ever had.
So this week you have the opportunity to purchase this exclusive coffee for $5 off a pound. We’ll have it in stock until it runs out–hopefully until Christmas. Our brewed coffee sample this week will remain the Celebes Kalossi, by popular demand (you can use last weeks code of rich brew to try it). And next week will mark the beginning of our limited edition Christmas Coffee, so check in for more details about that. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all, and know that we are thankful for each of you.
With gratitude,
–Holly Fike