Hacienda La Esmeralda’s Geisha Coffee

In Panama, there is a little coffee wonderland by the name of Chiriquí, a province on the western coast that has fertile soil and a fantastic agricultural climate. It’s here in Boquete that you’ll find Hacienda La Esmeralda, a farm owned by the Peterson family. While they offer a few varieties of coffee, it’s their Geisha coffee that gets the most attention.

Geisha Comes to Panama
Let’s start off by talking about where exactly Geisha coffee came from. It’s believed that it originated in an Ethiopian forest that’s located near Gesha, Ethiopia. In 1963, Don Pachi Serracin brought Geisha to Panama from Costa Rica as the Geisha is resistant to Coffee Leaf Rust (the fungus Hemileia vastatrix), which, at the time, was a big problem that was a huge worry of and having a major effect on coffee regions worldwide.

Hacienda La Esmeralda
In 1967, Rudolph A. Peterson purchased Hacienda La Esmeralda when he was the president of the Bank of America. His son, Price, eventually moved to Panama with his wife and two children in 1973 and took over things on the farm. Their third child was born in Panama the following year. Additional coffee trees were planted in 1987 and a coffee processing plant was added in 1994. The family purchased a farm by the name of Esmeralda Jaramillo (which is part of Hacienda La Esmeralda) in 1996 in Jaramillo, Boquete, and it was there that they found out some Geisha was planted. In 1998, Price planted Geisha all over the farm, in 2002 the plants were producing coffee cherries, in 2003 they were harvested, and in 2004 Geisha coffee started taking the world by storm.

Geisha Brands
There are currently three brands of Geisha detailed on the Hacienda La Esmeralda site: the Esmeralda Special Geisha Grand Reserve, the Esmeralda Private Collection Geisha Reserve, and the Esmeralda 1,500 Geisha. Each has their own set of special characteristics that make them a draw for coffee fans everywhere.

Cost
Daniel Peterson, Price’s youngest child, entered Geisha in the first ever Best of Panama auction in 2004, and it blew away the competition eventually selling for $21 a pound (7 bags) for a total price of $19,445.16. People happily pay high amounts for this coffee. As of the publication of this article, if you do a search on eBay for the most recent sold listings, a listing for a 5-pound bag of green unroasted La Esmeralda 1500 100% Geisha coffee beans went for $120 with free shipping while another listing for 9-pounds went for $190 with free shipping. On every site, it’s basically sold out.

Awards
Their coffee has been dominating competitions. They won 1st place in Best of Panama in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010, and in 2013 and 2015 in the Naturals Category. They also won 1st place in the Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2013, and 1st place in the Specialty Coffee Association of America Roasters Guild Cupping Pavilion in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

If you’re interested in getting your hands on Hacienda La Esmeralda’s Geisha coffee, keep an eye out on their site for auctions. Have expectations of a high price tag, but many of those who have tried the coffee said it was worth every penny.