Willing Coffee
La Cabra Esmeralda Washed Geisha 100g
La Cabra Esmeralda Washed Geisha 100g
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Esmeralda Washed Geisha 100g
Panama
- Producer The Peterson Family
- Region Boqueté
- Altitude 1700 masl
- Varietal Geisha
- Process Washed
- Harvest February 2025
Hacienda La Esmeralda
Hacienda La Esmeralda requires almost no introduction within the world of coffee. Starting mainly as a cattle farm in the mid 20th Century, the Peterson family shook the coffee world by breaking the world record price for a lot of coffee in 2004, composed entirely of a newly re-discovered varietal - Geisha.
In the years since, Esmeralda have continued to push boundaries, both for coffee quality and for price. Their yearly auction produces some of the most stunning coffees we have ever tasted, and is renowned for the high prices received, and for the difficulty of securing a specific lot.
Geisha
As seems fitting for a coffee produced at Hacienda La Esmeralda, this lot is 100% Geisha. Although Geisha shot to stardom thanks to Esmeralda in 2004, its story starts much earlier. A native Ethiopian varietal, Geisha was isolated by British researchers in the Gesha region of Ethiopia in the 1930’s, and thereafter studied at research stations in Kenya and Tanzania. It was much later introduced into Panama during an outbreak of leaf rust, due to observed resistance to the disease. The varietal was planted sporadically, blended into lots with other varietals, and mainly forgotten about until the Petersons cupped a small amount separately at their farm in 2004, and from there began the rise of Geisha within specialty coffee.
The Best of Panama
Nowadays Geisha lots, especially from Panama, have seen skyrocketing auction prices, starting from $21 dollars per pound in 2004, a record at the time, to a new high of nearly $14,000/lb this year. Esmeralda broke records at the prestigious Best of Panama competition once again this year, winning all three categories in the competition, and breaking the record for the highest scoring BoP coffee of all time twice, with a score of 97 points in the Geisha Natural category, and 98 points in the Geisha Washed.
Bosque
This lot specifically comes from Esmeralda’s Jaramillo farm, and uses a rather traditional washed process. The Jaramillo farm is where the iconic first lot of Geisha was harvested, and the coffee grown here still displays the clearest aromatic signature of all Esmeralda Geishas. This lot was picked on the Bosque plot of the farm at 1700 masl, before being de-pulped and fermented for around 40 hours. This is followed by careful washing and drying on raised beds.
Brewing advice
Water is one of the most critical components of an excellent coffee experience. We recommend using mineral water of a soft Total Dissolved Solids count, ideally below 150 ppm.
Rested coffee During the resting process, harsh and astringent flavors, which can even be perceived as a ‘roast’ character, soften out, allowing a clearer and brighter expression of the coffee’s character to shine.
We recommend resting our coffees for at least 10 days after the roast date, and we often find excellent results, especially for particularly dense coffees, beyond 6 weeks.
Brewing Our straightforward approach to coffee carries over into brewing. We recommend our roasted coffee for all brew methods, regardless of whether it is immersion, percolation or espresso. We believe that there is one correct way to roast a single coffee, roasting lightly, in such a way as to release its innate qualities and showcase its quality. Learn more about different brewing techniques and specific brew guides here.
About La Cabra
Aarhus / Denmark
La Cabra Coffee is a modern coffee company established in Aarhus, Denmark in 2012. Curious about what lay further down the coffee chain, we threw ourselves into sourcing and roasting our own coffee, our own way, in 2013. Part of the advantage of growing in a small town is the lack of external influence, allowing us to forge an honest and novel approach to coffee. This honesty and dedication led to a reputation at home in Aarhus, where a passionate team still runs our coffee bars and bakery.
Attention also began to trickle in from further afield, and today La Cabra is a widely recognised coffee roaster; we are proud to be working with many valued and quality driven wholesale partners to create exceptional coffee experiences in cities across the globe, and with dedicated home users and subscribers in more than 60 countries. Over the past few years we have further expanded our coffee horizons, moving to our new roastery location in Copenhagen, and opening our first international locations in New York, Bangkok and Oman.
