Panama
Hacienda La Esmeralda, Leon 4 NB Geisha Lot
100g
Cup Notes: Jasmine, Plum, Grape, Rose Tea, Cranberry, Cacao
Leon 4 NB Geisha lot stands out for its aromatic complexity.
Celebrated for its floral and fruity aromas, this coffee combines bright acidity with a juicy body, delivering a bold cup thanks to its natural processing.
Suggested for espresso and filter
when we roast
We freshly roast to order all coffees on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (excluding national holidays), and ship the same day! Cut-off time is 11:59pm (UTC+1) of the day before the roast day. *We only ship whole beans*
Details
- Series
- Premium Rarities
- Producer
- Peterson Family
- Country
- Panama
- Terroir
- Boquete
- Altitude
- 1683 masl
- Process
- Classic Natural - Raised Beds
- Arabica cultivar
- Geisha
- Picked in
- February 2024
- Arrived in
- September 2024
- Shipped in
- Box + Vacuum pack
- Roast profile by
- Rubens Gardelli
- Roasted on
- Customised solid-drum roaster
Suggested brewing recipe
To help you make the best out of your coffee, Rubens has crafted recipes for brewing this particular lot in filter.
There are two recipes: one for conical brewer (think v60) and one for flat-bottom brewer (think Kalita), however you can surely brew our coffees with any other brewing device, such as immersion brewers.
Please remember that these recipes are intended as starting points and may require further adjustments if the equipment you use is not identical to the one in the recipe; the characteristics of water used can also make a big difference in brewing.
Finally, the recipes suited specifically to Rubens’ roasting style, hence we do not guarantee that they will work as a universal reference.
There are two recipes: one for conical brewer (think v60) and one for flat-bottom brewer (think Kalita), however you can surely brew our coffees with any other brewing device, such as immersion brewers.
Please remember that these recipes are intended as starting points and may require further adjustments if the equipment you use is not identical to the one in the recipe; the characteristics of water used can also make a big difference in brewing.
Finally, the recipes suited specifically to Rubens’ roasting style, hence we do not guarantee that they will work as a universal reference.
Have fun brewing!
V60 STYLE
- Coffee:
- 17g
- Grind:
- Comandante 16 clicks (medium)
- Water:
- 250g (40 tds) at 90°C
- Filter model:
- Cafec Abaca+
- Time:
- 2:53
- Brew strenght:
- 1,42 tds
FLATBED
- Coffee:
- 17g
- Grind:
- Comandante 15 clicks (medium)
- Water:
- 250g (40 tds) at 90°C
- Filter model:
- Stagg [X], Fellow
- Time:
- 2:48
- Brew strenght:
- 1,44 tds
STORY BEHIND
Hacienda La Esmeralda is the epicenter of the rediscovery of the Geisha variety, which has given rise to the fascination the Specialty Coffee industry has had with the variety. In 2004, the Peterson family decided to separate lots based on their location on the farm, and kept them separated throughout processing. By doing so, the Petersons were able to isolate the cup profile of the Geisha variety, with the juicy acidity and multi-layered aromatics that Geisha has to offer. While it is a common practice today, this decision to separate lots was innovative and experimental at the time.
Due to the high premium these coffees garner during auctions, Hacienda La Esmeralda is able to pay its harvesters three times the typical wage, ensuring a good standard of living as well as the work of the highest quality.
By carefully dividing each lot as it is picked, specific clusters of trees are targeted during the harvest, building unique microlots for the most quality-conscious buyers. La Esmeralda's industry-leading environmental sustainability practices and support for employees and their families have made us proud to partner with the Peterson family for many years.
Cañas Verdes has a distinct three- to four-month dry season, but even then, the air is cool. Half of Cañas Verdes is part of the original Peterson holdings purchased in 1967, with the land first dedicated to pasture for beef and, later, dairy cattle. Several small growers have grown coffee in this remote area for some time. After the rediscovery of Geisha, the Peterson family began purchasing smaller lots around the original Cañas Verdes farm and expanding their Geisha production. Since then, many award-winning Esmeralda Geisha lots have come from the hillsides of Cañas Verdes.
THE VARIETY
Rare, exclusive and fetching a heavy price tag, Geisha is often associated with coffees from Panama, while, in fact, the cultivation of the Geisha varietal began there as late as in the 1960s.
Geisha is an original variety of coffee that was discovered in the 1930s in the mountains around the Southwestern town of Geisha, Ethiopia. Geisha trees grow tall and can be distinguished by their beautiful elongated leaves. The quality of this coffee can be drastically improved when grown at extremely high elevation.
The Geisha revolution brought about an intense search for Geisha among coffee buyers and a primal pilgrimage to Ethiopia to find the source of that flavour. The roads those buyers travelled brought them to a wood in far western Ethiopia near a small town called Geisha in the forests where coffee was born and still grows wild.
Geisha 1931 comes from this place.
Its name reflects the place and year it was collected by scientists who fanned out on a research expedition in Ethiopia to catalogue its coffee varieties.
THE FERMENTATION PROCESS
Leon 4 NB was harvested on February 1, 2024 from the Leon lot in Hacienda La Esmeralda’s Cañas Verdes farm. After harvest, the coffee cherries were taken to Hacienda La Esmeralda’s mill in Palmira, where they were slow-dried for 28 days on raised beds.
Coffee cherries are spread in thin layers and rotated regularly to ensure a uniform drying.
During the drying process, a natural fermentation occurs. Coffee enzymes undergo fermentation in the presence of naturally occurring yeast and bacteria that break down the sugars in the mucilage.
