Hacienda La Esmeralda Washed Gesha Buenos Aires Lot, Panama

Origin

• 🇵🇦 Panama· Boquete

Tasting notes

Character

• Funky
  20

From Hacienda La Esmeralda — the reference point for GeshaGesha (Geisha)A rare, jasmine-and-bergamot scented variety originally from Ethiopia's Gesha forest, made famous by Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. Routinely the most expensive coffee at auction.. Some coffees are selected because they are beautiful. Others because they are important. This is both. We chose Buenos Aires WashedWashed processThe fruit is removed from the seed before drying, usually with fermentation and a water rinse. Tends to give clean, transparent cups where origin character shows clearly. Gesha because it represents one of the clearest expressions of why Hacienda La Esmeralda still holds such a rare position in coffee. Many farms produce Gesha today. Very few produce it with this level of calm precision, year after year, in a way that continues to define the category rather than follow it. At Best of Panama 2025, Esmeralda once again confirmed its place at the very top: 98.00 points for Washed Gesha and 97.00 points for NaturalNatural processThe whole cherry is dried with the fruit still on the seed. Gives heavier body and big fruit flavors — think berries and wine — sometimes with a fermenty edge.. Two historic results, judged by an international panel of 22 judges. For us, the score is not the reason to buy the coffee. It is confirmation of what the cup already tells you. The coffees produced by Rachel Peterson and her family are truly astounding, and we are fortunate to be able to share a few different of their top scoring micro lots. Buenos Aires Washed Gesha is a pure expression of Boquete terroirTerroirBorrowed from wine: the way a place — soil, altitude, climate, even neighboring crops — expresses itself in the cup, independent of variety and process.. Taste description: Delicate florals lead the cup, with cherry blossom, jasmine and orange blossom on the nose. The sweetness is refined and transparent, moving toward white peach, ripe citrus and red apple, with a soft cane sugar character underneath. Hibiscus adds lift, while a clean tea-like structure gives the cup shape and length. The bodyBodyThe weight and texture of coffee in the mouth, from tea-like and delicate to syrupy and heavy. Driven by process, roast, variety, and brew method. feels silky and composed, the acidityAcidityThe bright, lively, fruit-like sensation in coffee — praise, not a flaw. Citric sparkle, malic apple-crispness, tartaric wine notes; light roasts preserve more of it. is bright, malic and citrus-driven, and the finish stays sparkling, precise and remarkably long. Story: High in the misty mountains of Panama, Hacienda La Esmeralda has spent decades shaping what Gesha coffee can be. Meticulous farming, volcanic soils, and a singular microclimate have made this farm one of the most important names in modern coffee. Their work did not simply popularise Gesha. It changed what people believed coffee could taste like. VarietyVariety (cultivar)The botanical subtype of the coffee plant — Gesha, Bourbon, SL28 — analogous to grape varieties in wine. A major driver of cup character alongside origin and process.: Gesha Country: Panama Region: Boquete, Panama Process: Washed Altitude: 1700 MSL Producer: Hacienda La