A Taste of Luxury: Geisha Coffee - an Exclusive Experience for Connoisseurs

Geisha Coffee: A Rare Treasure from Ethiopia's Highlands via Panama's Peaks

In the world of coffee, few varieties can match the fame and exclusivity of Geisha coffee. This rare coffee bean has a fascinating journey that stretches from the forests of Ethiopia to victory in the world's foremost coffee auctions.

An Ethiopian Origin

Geisha's story begins in the lush forests of the Gori Gesha region of Ethiopia. Here, the coffee variety was discovered and cultivated by smallholder farmers for generations, known locally for its unique taste and aroma. In the 1930s, British Captain Whalley collected a sample shipment of Geisha beans from the Gesha area and sent them to Tanzania for further cultivation. This marked the beginning of Geisha's journey towards global recognition, albeit under a somewhat confusing spelling. Read more about the name Geisha here.

Through a network of gene banks and research stations, Geisha beans eventually reached the CATIE institute in Costa Rica. It was Geisha's impressive resistance to the "ojo de gallo" (coffee leaf rust) disease that led the coffee variety to Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama.

A Panamanian Triumph

The Peterson family, who run the farm, had been cultivating coffee since the 1960s, but it was in the 1990s that their focus intensified. They acquired a new high-altitude farm called Jaramillo. Parts of the area had recently been ravaged by coffee leaf rust, but Daniel Peterson noticed that the Geisha trees were not as severely affected. They decided to cultivate Geisha in larger quantities, including at an altitude of 1650 meters – higher than previous planting attempts with the variety.

Daniel Peterson, 3rd generation coffee farmer and the one who discovered the Geisha variety at Hacienda La Esmeralda in 2004. This bush is from the "Mario" plot.

This choice would have enormous significance. The plants at higher altitudes yielded Geisha beans with truly unique aromas, a breakthrough that became evident prior to the prestigious Best of Panama competition in 2004. For the first time, the Peterson family chose to separate the beans from different parts of the farm during processing. A special "lot" came from the high-altitude areas of Jaramillo, and when this reached the judging panel, they were stunned.

For the first time, coffee experts tasted 100% pure Geisha. With its explosion of juiciness and multi-layered aromas, it was more reminiscent of an exquisite coffee from Ethiopia than Latin America. Hacienda La Esmeralda won Best of Panama in 2004 with its Geisha coffee, and that year set a record for the highest price ever paid for coffee at auction.
Around the same time, Kaffa's founder Robert was visiting, and in 2006, we became the first in Europe to buy Geisha at auction from here. In 2006, $120 per kilo was an astronomically high price; last year, the best lot of Geisha from Panama sold for over $10,000 per kilo...

Experience a Taste of Luxury

At Kaffa, we are proud to continue offering a selection of Geisha coffee from some of the most renowned coffee farmers in the world. We roast our coffee in small batches to ensure optimal freshness and taste. Geisha coffee is now cultivated throughout the coffee world, making it accessible to an increasing number of coffee lovers. The market for coffee priced at over 150,000 NOK per kilo is very, very small in Norway, but through our good relationships, we still manage to get our hands on exceptionally good coffee at a price we can live with, from time to time.

Our friend Luis Pereira with one of his first Geisha trees in Brazil:


Another Geisha-growing Kaffa friend, Benjamin Paz in Honduras:
 

Order Geisha coffee from Kaffa today and let yourself be seduced by the magical taste of this rare coffee variety.