Geisha (coffee) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Coffee Variety Information |
|
|---|---|
| Stature | Tall |
| Leaf Tip Color | Green or Bronze |
| Bean Size | Average |
| Quality Potential | Exceptional |
| Yield Potential | Medium |
| Coffee Leaf Rust | Tolerant |
| Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) | Susceptible |
| Nematodes | Susceptible |
| WCR Variety Catalog: Geisha (Panama) | |
Gesha coffee, also known as Geisha coffee, is a special type of coffee plant. It first grew in the Gori Gesha forest in Ethiopia. Now, you can find it growing in many other countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. People love Gesha coffee for its amazing taste, which often has flowery and sweet flavors. It's also famous for being very expensive and hard to find because many people want it.
Even though many coffees are called Gesha or Geisha, the one from Panama is very special. It has its own unique genetic fingerprint, which means it's truly one of a kind.
After Gesha coffee was found in Ethiopia, it was sent to a coffee research station in Tanzania. This was in 1953. From there, some plants went to CATIE in Costa Rica. CATIE then shared these plants with other countries in Central America. In 2005, a family named Peterson from Boquete, Panama, entered their Geisha coffee into a competition called "Best Of Panama." Their coffee won and sold for a record price of $350 for just one pound! In 2017, another Geisha coffee from Hacienda La Esmeralda broke that record, selling for $601 per pound.
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What's in a Name?
The name "Geisha" has been used for this coffee since British officials first collected it. In 1936, a letter from the British Consulate in Ethiopia talked about a trip to the "Geisha coffee area." They collected samples there to study them more. The name "Gesha" comes from how the local Amharic word for the region, ጋሻ, is spelled in English.
Most of the time, coffees from Ethiopia use the spelling "Gesha." Coffees grown in other places often use "Geisha." This depends on how the coffee was first labeled when it left Ethiopia. Some farmers in Latin America, however, use "Gesha" to show that their coffee comes from the original Ethiopian plants. It's important to know that the name "Geisha" came from a misspelling or a different way to say "Gesha." People are now trying to make sure the coffee isn't confused with Japanese geisha entertainers.
A Brief History of Gesha Coffee
Coffee production in Ethiopia has a very long history, going back hundreds of years. Some stories say coffee has been harvested there since the 800s! Ethiopia is like a huge natural library for different types of Arabica coffee. This means it has many different kinds of coffee plants, each with its own unique flavors. Ethiopia has a varied climate and landscape. This leads to different coffee flavors depending on where it grows.
The Gesha type of Coffea arabica was first identified in the 1930s. It was found in the mountains of the Gesha region in southwestern Ethiopia. After seeds were collected in 1936, the coffee was planted in Tanzania and Costa Rica. From there, it spread to Panama in the 1960s. This included the famous Boquete region, where it became very popular.
How Gesha Coffee is Grown and Processed
Making Gesha coffee starts with picking the ripest coffee cherries. Farmers prefer to pick the cherries by hand. This helps make sure only the perfectly ripe ones are chosen. The riper the cherry, the sweeter the coffee will taste.
After picking, the cherries are checked for quality. Some farms have machines that can sort the cherries. Smaller farms often have workers sort them by hand. The cherries are then processed in one of two main ways:
- Wet method: This is also called the "washed" method. Washed coffees often taste "cleaner" and lighter. They have a brighter, clearer acidity and fruit notes. They are also described as more balanced.
- Dry method: This is also called the "natural" method. Dry-processed coffees tend to be fuller-bodied, fruitier, and sweeter. They are less acidic, though sometimes the acidity is stronger and easier to notice.
After these steps, the producers have the special Gesha coffee beans ready for roasting.
The Amazing Flavor of Gesha Coffee
The taste of Gesha coffee is a big reason why it's so famous. Gesha is known for its sweet flavor and wonderful smell. People often describe notes of flowers, jasmine, chocolate, honey, and even black tea. These sweet, flowery notes and complex flavors are common in many other African coffees too. This unique taste is also why Gesha coffee is so expensive and highly valued.
It can be hard to pinpoint a flavor for a specific coffee area. However, experienced coffee tasters, called coffee cuppers, can often tell the difference between coffees from various regions. The Gesha region itself is now producing its own high-quality washed and dry-processed coffees. Gesha coffee, whether grown in Ethiopia or elsewhere, is known for its amazing smell and taste. It often has notes of jasmine, black tea, and tropical fruit, along with a deep sweetness. Because of these reasons, Gesha coffee is highly sought after and usually costs a lot of money.
High Prices and Auctions
The "Best of Panama Coffee Competition" is well-known for selling coffee at very high prices in auctions. This is where Gesha coffee became known as one of the most expensive coffees in the world. This happened in 2004 when Hacienda La Esmeralda entered their coffee into the competition. It had a very unusual and distinct taste. It was then bought at auction for a record price of $21 per pound.
Fifteen years later, in 2019, another Gesha coffee sold for an incredible $1,029 per pound (for unroasted beans) at the same competition. This Gesha coffee was nicknamed "Elida Natural Geisha 1029." It was grown on the Lamastus Family Estates. A batch of 100 pounds of this Gesha coffee sold for $100,000! This was $80,000 more than the next most expensive coffee. Gesha is truly one of the most valuable coffees in the world.
