Tree close to the entrance to Finca La Mula, Panama.

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Exploringthe

HOLY GRAIL
Geisha Coffee,
10 Years on
sto ry a n d p h oto s
by w i l l e m b o ot
I closed my eyes for a brief moment while savoring

premiere and was first presented to a select jury of

the warm liquid in my mouth, and I sucked the last

professional coffee tasters.

drops from the silver spoon. In an instant I tasted

At the time, the coffee sector had been plagued

the overwhelming aftertaste of jasmine, papaya,

with a years-long crisis. The unprecedented low

lime and honeysuckle. While the flavors gradually

prices for green coffee, and the subsequent social

faded, I opened my eyes and explored the facial

impact, had hit producers the hardest. Especiallyexpressions of my colleagues. The tall American

for this reason, the discovery of the geisha coffee intaster heaved a sigh of surprise, and the balding

Panama was considered a great revelation. Never in

Costa Rican nodded with a smile. I felt blissful.

my coffee career I had tasted such an otherworldly

It was April 2004. I was a cupping judge during

beautiful coffee; eventually I gave this exceptional

the annual Best of Panama cupping competition.

geisha a rating of 96 points.

There, the coffee I had just tested—a geisha
varietal grown in Panama—celebrated its worldcontinued on page 40

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Exploring the Holy Grail | Geisha Coffee, 10 Years On(continued)

From Anonymous to Exclusive
Geisha is originally an Ethiopian coffee that was first selected in the 1930s
in the forested mountains of the western Ethiopian provinces of Maji andGoldija, near the town of Gesha. After journeying through Tanzania, Kenya
and Costa Rica, geisha coffee eventually landed in Panama. A small groupof coffee farmers planted the then-unknown coffee in different plantations
around the village of Boquete in the Chiriqui province.
For at least 40 years, the variety enjoyed a relatively anonymous
existence. For most of the 20th century, it was standard practice to planta mixture of coffee varieties instead of planting varieties separately.
Eventually, coffee producers took notice of the geisha plants because of
its exceptional width and large, elliptical berries, which display a uniqueflavor profile by themselves with the taste of super-ripe papaya and spicy,
minty finish. In addition, this variety is characterized by the elegant,oval structure of the unroasted bean and the strong perfumed scent of theblossom.
Since the discovery of the exceptional flavor profile of geisha, manycoffee farmers in Panama have started to cultivate this exotic coffee variety.
Every year the Panamanian coffee producers organize an Internet coffee
auction for the global community of super quality coffee roasters. It is no
surprise that geisha has been breaking many records; the highest bids haveexceeded $170 per pound.
Sunset above Gesha forest, Ethiopia.

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New, inBronze tip Geisha tree at Fince La Mula, Panama

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Geisha’s sudden exclusivity was a fact not lost on
producers in Panama. Price Peterson, proprietor of Hacienda
La Esmeralda, recalls, “A local reporter here was talking toa Panamanian geisha producer and asked him, ‘What are
you farmers here in Boquete going to do with this famous
seed?’ And the producer answered, ‘We’re going to guard it;
we’re not going to let it out of Boquete. It’s going to becomea national Panamanian thing.’ The reporter published this,and it went all over the world: ‘Panama is going to guard its
geisha seed.’“I got an e-mail, a day later, from Ted Lingle (executive
director of the SCAA at the time),” Peterson adds. “Ted said,‘Price, God gave geisha to the Ethiopians, the Ethiopians gave
it to Costa Rica, Costa Rica gave it to Panama, and you guys
think you’re going to keep it from everybody else?’ He wasabsolutely right; it was a silly idea.”
Nearly a decade later, geisha is still turning heads.
“Whenever we’ve done blind tastings with customers,
roasters or baristas, the geisha on the table has nearly always
blown the competition away—from the initial smell in thedry through to the final taste,” says Damian Blackburn,owner of Bolling Coffee in the United Kingdom. “People
perceive it as sweeter, juicier and having that little bit extra.”continued on page 42

Cherries at Finca La Mula, Panama.

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New, to comeView from Fince La Mula, Panama
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Exploring the Holy Grail | Geisha Coffee, 10 Years On

First Attempt to
Discover Geisha Roots
In Ethiopia
The memorable tasting in Panama turned myworld upside-down. I felt an intense desire
to discover the origin of geisha and possibly
become a geisha coffee farmer myself. I
had dreams where I wandered through an(continued)

immense forest. A flurry of intense jasmine

Unfortunately, deforestation has had ascent wafted through the air, and suddenly

devastating impact on western Ethiopia.

I was standing face to face with a lush, wild

An Ethiopian coffee planter told us about

coffee tree in full bloom.

the immense diversity of coffee varieties

During a 2006 trip to the birthplace ofabundantly growing in the remaining

coffee, Ethiopia, I traveled with a grouptropical forests of the country. One of ourof coffee experts to the areas west of the

explorations led to a vast, virgin forest

provincial capital of Jimma. We admired thesouthwest of Bonga. My grandmothervast landscapes, interrupted by beautiful

used to say, “Forewarned is forearmed,”

rainforests and dry, barren plateaus.

and on that day I learned the essence ofher life lesson. Our hike was grueling. The
rains of the previous day had turned thenarrow trail into a quagmire of red clay.
Nevertheless, we profoundly enjoyed theunforgettable surroundings.
Coffee pickers, called “collectors,” whoautonomously collect coffee berries pickedin the forest, came to meet us with theirheavily laden mules. After a long and tiring
walk, we eventually reached a higher partof the forest. Thousands of proud, wild
coffee trees greeted us defiantly. We felt
like we were chosen to arrive at this sacredsite. I plucked some ripe, red berries of amature, elongated coffee tree and tasted
the lively sweetness of honey and papaya.
I felt a tingling bliss, like a blanket ofcotton candy covering my tongue. I wassilently pondering the thought that this
could be a wild geisha, and then I realized

1/2 page Island
ZephyrPU 3.13the minuscule, less-than-1-out-of-50,000
chance of such a miraculous epiphany. The
journey back through the forest appeared
to be surprisingly easy. A cacophony ofbirds, monkeys, frogs and crickets echoedthrough the forest. While I daydreamed
about the possibility of encountering an
original geisha coffee tree in this forest,
we were startled by the load roar of a lion.
It sounded dangerously close. With racing
hearts, we accelerated our pace. The local
farmers later told us that it had been aclose call; we could have fallen prey toan aggressive group of lions had recently
started to terrorize this part of the forest.

Growing Geisha
in Panama
Shortly after my first encounter withgeisha, I was approached by a fellow
Panamanian coffee farmer—Graciano
Cruz—who told me about a unique pieceof land on the slopes of the dormant Baru
Inside the Gesha coffee forest, Gesha, Ethiopia

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Volcano. The elevation of 1,700 to 1,800

these Hartmann-produced geishas displayof cherries and stimulate the complexity ofmeters and the beautiful view of the valley

the wonderful and epic jasmine flavoroils in the beans, which are responsible forsouth of Boquete gave me enough reasons

tones which have created for geisha aaromas and flavors. At higher elevations,to turn a dream into reality. The land was

new category in today’s specialty coffee

the intensity of ultraviolet rays increases

renamed “Finca La Mula,” and eventuallyindustry.

significantly, which can benefit the trees

we planted more than 6,000 coffee trees

under most conditions.

As a general rule, the quality of coffee

Growing at high elevations is not without

on the steep, wooded slopes of this new

can increase by cultivating the tree atgeisha coffee farm.

higher elevations. A regular, repetitive

risk, however. In Panama, I founded a farmweather pattern with warm days and cold

called Finca Sophia with my friends Helen

The planting of the geisha babies was atrue challenge for a team of 15 indigenous

nights will slow down the maturation cycle

continued on page 44

Ngöbe-Buglé workers. Since the beginningof the 19th century, the indigenous
population has been indispensable insecuring the existence of the Panamaniancoffee culture. They perform all theessential farming tasks, from weed
management to pruning and fertilizing
the coffee trees, to picking the ripe coffee
berries. The hardest work, planting,requires the most physical effort—inparticular at La Mula. In the absence of aregular road, all coffee seedlings had tobe hand-carried and transported on footthrough the trails winding through theforest.
Just recently, I had the opportunity totaste a few cups from the first “nano-lot”
produced by Finca La Mula. Fortunately,
the flavor profile of my own geisha didn’t
disappoint any of the participating
cuppers.

Experimenting
With Altitude andProcessing

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Modern Process
New, inGeisha in Panama is processed in various
ways: semi-washed with a mechanicalmucilage remover, honey style (by drying
the parchment beans with all mucilageon the beans) and sun-dried naturalprocessing (by drying entire ripe cherries
on a patio, on raised beds or in mechanicaldriers).
The Hartmann family in Panama
produces geisha coffee with all three
processing styles. Each method produces
distinct flavor profiles; the washed geisha
has luscious, ripe papaya and passion
fruit flavors; the honey variant is sweeter
with more body and the sun-dried naturalfeatures a refreshing, minty acidity witha mild fruity flavor. Interestingly, all
Coffee blossom at Fince La Mula, Panama
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Exploring the Holy Grail | Geisha Coffee, 10 Years On(continued)

Russell and Brooke McDonnell of Equator Coffee. Finca Sophia hasaltitudes over 1,900 meters. Under these conditions, growing geisha
coffee trees is extremely challenging. The UV radiation can actually burnthe leaves of the trees, and under the impact of wind and cold a plantdisease called derrite (dieback) is likely to occur, caused by the fungus
Phoma Costarricensis.
But when high-altitude growing succeeds, the result can be
sublime. “Every time we go higher, it just gets better,” Peterson says.
“We have some coffee here in Cañas Verdes that’s at 1,750 meters. Every
year it’s just that much better than the coffees that are below. [My son]Daniel has now planted some at 2,000 meters. It really gets cold up
Willem Boot at Finca La Mula, Panama

there. I’m part of the school that believes that good coffee requires coldnights.”Approaching the Holy Grailin Ethiopia
Since the first discovery of the exotic flavor profile of the Panamaniangeisha, I felt compelled, almost obsessed, with the thought thatsomewhere in the western Ethiopian highlands the original mother treeof this geisha could be found. After the unsuccessful geisha exploration
tour that I organized in 2006, I became convinced that the real answer
Coffee cherries at Finca La Mula, Panama

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Pumpskins
New, inOn our way to Gesha, Ethiopia; inspecting the river

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to this fascinating coffee mystery could lie in a heavily forested area,
situated on a 1,900-meter plateau north of the town Gesha in the regionof Maji and Goldiya. My inquiries with local officials in the nearest
town of Mizan (at least 120 miles away from Gesha) provided only few
clues. No one had firsthand knowledge of how to get to Gesha andwhat the local conditions were like. Some claimed that the area wasinhabited by indigenous nomadic tribes and that the presence of lions
and crocodiles would complicate the access to the plateau. My curiosity
only grew stronger and my daydreams returned.
Several years went by, and in 2009 I met Adam Overton, an
American documentary filmmaker, and Rachel Samuel, an Ethiopiaborn photographer. They told me about their idea to start a coffee
farm in Ethiopia, and after much persistence they found a prospective
400-hectare plot of land available for lease near the town of Gesha.
Their first descriptions of the site after an initial exploration in thesummer of 2011 made my heart beat like a samba drum.
Shortly after, we flew to Addis Ababa and made the long two-day
journey to Gesha with a well-equipped Land Rover. The plan was tocomplete our assessment of the possible farm site and to evaluate
whether or not the land could be developed with coffee. Traveling towestern Ethiopia in September is a bad idea, as we would find out.
Dirt roads had changed into mudslides, and gentle streams weretransformed into treacherous rivers. To make matters worse, our vehicle
Inside the Gesha Forest; interesting shape of coffee leaves

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Mahlkoenig
New, inOn our way to Gesha, Ethiopia; getting stuck in the river
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Exploring the Holy Grail | Geisha Coffee, 10 Years On(continued)

got stuck in the middle of one of these waterways with not a single tree around to attach
the winch of our Defender. Ultimately, we got ourselves out and continued our coffee
pilgrimage.
Upon entering the forest near Gesha town, two guards carrying dangerous-looking
spears, for safekeeping against rogue lions, were leading us. I felt an exhilarating sense of
excitement despite getting drenched by rain and feeling the bone-cold breeze on this highplateau. Strangely, we found only a few wild-growing coffee trees, and we figured that theforest, under threat of being decimated altogether, might have mysteriously absorbed theoriginal native population of coffee trees. We did find a spectacular countryside, interlacedwith patches of jungle and inhabited by indigenous Minit people and other local tribes.
I felt like Henry Stanley right before having his epic “Doctor Livingstone, I presume?”
moment.
During my second visit to Gesha in February 2012, we explored other remaining forestsin the area. According to the locals, at least 30 years ago a giant fire swept through the
district, destroying massive amounts of woodland but creating thousands of acres of arable
land for the local population. By now, Overton and his Ethiopia-born business partner
Yohannes Samuel had founded Gesha Village Forest Estate, and we started a collaborationthat includes the production, promotion and marketing of genuine Gesha coffees produced
through this venture.
During one of our explorations we passed through a small settlement with elegantly
shaped roundhouses and natural fences made of cacti. The locals offered us a cup of“chello,” an ancient coffee drink made of toasted coffee leaves infused with garlic,cloves, forest onions and other spices. I savored the liquid from a smudgy cup and felt theinvigorating caffeine jolt with a minty, spicy aftertaste.
Less than 30 minutes later, we found ourselves entering the nearby forest, and I felt
as if I were in heaven. We had stumbled upon an uncountable number of wild coffee
trees growing under the soothing protection of primary shade. Practically all of the trees
were in full blossom with orange and black butterflies circling about, lending the scenea “Coffee in Wonderland” feel. An invigorating scent of jasmine perfumed this polleninfused paradise. The reality had become better than the dream itself! Overwhelmed by
the experience and drunk with joy, we returned to our vehicle, which was surrounded by alarge group of curious and playful Gesha kids.
In this forest, we probably encountered many Panama geisha-related coffee genotypes,
which should be proven through scientific studies (genetic comparative research) and by
performing cup tasting research. As coffee genetics experts explain, geisha took on new
characteristics as the original cultivar journeyed from Ethiopia to the New World.
Johannes Samuel at an old growth tree near Gesha(photo by Rachel Samuel)Near Gesha, Ethiopia (photo by Rachel Samuel)38

r4
o a6s t r o a s t“The geisha cultivar presently in Central America originated from the progeny of seeds

Butterfly in the Gesha forest

Coffee cherries in the Gesha forest

Exploring the Holy Grail | Geisha Coffee, 10 Years On

Sipping “chello” near the Gesha forest, Ethiopia.

Young
tribe member near Gesha, Ethiopia.

(continued)

Harvesting cherries in Gesha forest (photo by Rachel Samuel)collected in the Gesha area in 1931, and was selected after several cycles of multiplication(with possible genetic drift and genetic introgression) in different countries (Kenya,
Tanzania, Costa Rica),” says Jean Pierre Labouisse, who works with CIRAD, a French
research center working with developing countries on agricultural and development issues.
“It is a unique genotype that can be multiplied by cloning or by seeds in isolated seedgardens.”
Though the geisha cultivar and the coffee trees I encountered in the Gesha forest likely
have some common genes, they are not identical, says Labouisse, who spent multiple years
performing variety research in Ethiopia. “The characteristic of Gesha coffee in terms ofyield, resistance to coffee rust, [and] quality can be very variable. By using appropriate DNA
markers like micro-satellites you can assess the genetic variability of those populations ofgesha.”

What’s Next for Geisha
What’s the outlook for geisha? For sure, she’s here for the long run. Coffee professionals
and aficionados seem to unanimously recognize the unparalleled flavor profile of geisha
coffee. Most likely, producers around the world will continue to plant the “queen of
all coffees”; they will strive to select better-performing geisha varieties and reproduce
the seeds of these sub-strains. While some producers in Panama already discovered a
distinction between the “green tip” geisha (more acidity with intense jasmine) versus the“bronze tip” (more sweetness and creamier body), the trend of trying to elevate the qualityof this variety to the highest possible levels will continue.
On the consumption side, it appears that certain consumers fully embrace the flavorsof geisha. When Starbucks introduced geisha at $7 per cup in some of their outlets last year,
consumers did not hesitate and within days, their limited inventory of this unique coffee

Young Minit tribe member near Gesha, Ethiopia

was sold out.
After its discovery at the Best of Panama competition, most of the country’s geisha waspurchased by a select group of roasters in the United States before it expanded to a wider
audience in the United States, especially in Asia, says Peterson, who has been producing
geisha for more than eight years. “I don’t think we will ever get over $100 per pound again,”Peterson says. “It’s very nice, frankly, to see the price settle down to a $20 to $50 range,
which is much more solid and much more reasonable.”“I believe that geisha will become a category in itself in the industry with duration,”says Yiannis Taloumis, founder and general manager of Athens-based Taf Coffee. “Theinteresting thing with the geisha compared to Blue Mountain is that its growing andcontinued on page 48

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Exploring the Holy Grail | Geisha Coffee, 10 Years On(continued)

processing can take place in several
countries in Central America as well as
Colombia.”
Nearly all of the coffee professionals
I interviewed seem to agree that trying toestablish some sort of certification scheme
for geisha coffee is a bad idea. They claimthat the most important step to procure“real” geisha coffee is the relationshipwith the producer of the beans because
he or she is the only one who can truly
guarantee the authenticity of the product.
“I think the mother of all gesha
is here in Ethiopia, and we should betrying to find and secure seed stocks andtissue culture from here, versus worrying
about certification,” says Darrin Daniel,
Stumptown Coffee’s head green buyer.
“I have never doubted [the authenticityof the coffee we have purchased], but
we have only bought gesha from known
sources” in Guatemala, Panama andInside the coffee forest near Gesha, Ethiopia.

Honduras. “Each has its own terroir andmicroclimates. I love them all,” he adds.
“Who you buy from [is] the certification in
and of itself.”
Sander Reuderink, a trader at
InterAmerican Coffee in Hamburg, agrees.
InterAmerican has been purchasing geisha
since 2011 and was the largest buyer atthe 2012 Esmeralda auction. “I have noreason to believe that we have ever beenoffered non-genuine geisha lots, since thebean morphology is normally very clear,”
Reuderink says. “We have, however, often
received samples of geisha that were notinteresting cup-wise, probably due to lackof altitude or because the trees were still
too young. Therefore, we do not think thatcertifying beans as geisha is a guarantee
for quality.”
Jaromír Tuček of Doubleshot in the
Czech Republic also is concerned about
producers growing the variety at lower
altitudes. “I am little bit worried that thename/brand will be partially damaged by

Preparing a germination bed for coffee seeds near Gesha, Ethiopia

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Friday market in Gesha, Ethiopia

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Young Minit tribe member near Gesha, Ethiopiamany low-grown geishas that are starting

treated carefully and in the hands of theto appear from countries all around Latin

end consumer as soon as possible. Washed

America—plus, for example, Malawi

geisha needs to be brewed fresh.”geisha, sold in Europe to many roasters
who believe it’s the famed geisha variety,”he says.
Like any specialty coffee, geisha
needs to be treated with care as it makes

Super-Premium
Varieties of the Future
Geisha cherries at Finca La Mula, Panama.

its journey from the farm to the roastery.

The geisha variety was pulled from

“In the green form, I’ve heard first handobscurity a decade ago. As the specialty

stories of geisha coffees that have died on

industry moves forward, what otherarrival and been rendered unsellable whenvarieties will appear at the firmament of

example the bourbon pointu from the island

there’s no ‘wow’ factor aromatics to backsuper-quality coffees in the near future?

of Réunion. Only time will tell what coffees

Initiatives of quality pioneers like thewill set our taste buds tingling in the future.

up the hefty price tag. However, this could
be true of any coffee that’s not been driedPeterson family in Panama, which hasor shipped correctly,” says Blackburn ofbeen planting a large number of varieties

Bolling Coffee. “In vacuum or GrainPro,

selected through the CATIE research

we’ve had no problems with the green, but

center in Costa Rica, might result in

I’d consider protective methods to be criticalother spectacular discoveries of previously

for the shipping of geisha.”unknown coffee varieties. Other options for

Ultimately, Blackburn adds, “Fromtop-quality producing coffees are varieties

roasting to customer, I think any coffee

like pacamara, San Ramon, maragogype,with fine floral aromatics needs to be

typica and various bourbon selections—for

WILLEM BOOT lives and works near

San Francisco. His company, Boot Coffee, specializes in
consultancy and training for the international specialty
coffee industry. Coffee courses are held in San Francisco,Panama, El Salvador and The Netherlands. E-mail him
at willem@bootcoffee.com.

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New, inView West from Gesha plateau, Ethiopia (photo by Rachel Samuel)May | Jun e 2 0 1 349