First Published - November 28, 2014
Los Lajones Natural Geisha, Sweet Princess
Clean and sweet with tangy red apple acidity. Syrupy sweetness, redcurrants and black cherry juice. Candy-like sweetness.
The Geisha varietal is almost the stuff of legend in the coffee world. It’s the genus, the start of it all. It derives from seeds collected in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, for research purposes.
At that time, the Ethiopian Geisha was studied but not widely planted. It was noted for resistance to Leaf Rust, but low yields made it commercially non-viable. Still, some of those seed,s from a research institute in Costa Rica, were sent to Panama and planted at Finca Esmerelda, owned by the Peterson family.
During cupping sessions at the farm in the early 2000s, some coffees expressed a delicious floral cup. When this was investigated further, this coffee was identified as coming from a particular part of the farm where Geisha trees were grown.
Queen and Princess:
At Los Lajones, Graciano Cruz first planted some Geisha seeds almost fifteen years ago and because of the high altitude of the farm the plants grew very slowly. It took five years for the first flowering and cherry production. Those original trees are now known as “Queen” trees, and their seeds were used to produce the next generation of trees who are named “Princess”.
We gave it to a few people to try and here’s what they had to say.
@Unionroasted oh.my.god! We love it! Slightly delayed tasting but wanted to give it full attention :) beautiful!
...Geisha?! ...Panama?! ...Graciano Cruz?! Very exciting! 8-D @Unionroasted
Ok, to cut to the chase: we'll be cupping Geisha by @unionroasted at the end of this week. It's liquid gold. One... http://fb.me/GejMpwxD
Geisha tasting @Taylor_St Come and sign up. Limited space of 10 coffee maniacs only ;) Thank you @Unionroasted
We are thrilled to find microlots like this because to us these unique tastes represent some of the most committed, knowledgeable and skilled producers out there today.
There are still limited quantities of this available, one of the highlights of 2014.
Did you get a chance to at taste at Taylor St Baristas? W’d love to hear what you think about Sweet Princess – and how you’re brewing it. Tweet us at @unionroasted or leave a comment here!
