Panama Geisha is a rare, delicate, and complex variety well-loved for its sweet florality and citrus highlights. Since its debut win at the Best of Panama auction in 2004, it has kept specialty coffee lovers everywhere captivated by its endless possibilities, delicacy, complexity, and clarity of flavors.
As such, it is often showcased on coffee competition stages by a great number of coffee champions, and it also continues to fetch the highest prices.
While a coffee’s truest intrinsic qualities are still largely believed to be showcased best by traditional washed processing due to the demucilaging, washing, and scrubbing steps removing all traces of fruit from the bean, the expertise of seasoned and passionate producers like Gilberto Cardoze / Edgar Gutierrezallows them to direct the flavor character of the Panama Geisha towards a seemingly endless diversity of delightfully surprising trajectories.
To achieve the layered floral and citrus aromatics, complex acidity, and crisp, clean elegance of this Guayabita lot, the handpicked, ripe Panama Geisha cherries first underwent a submerged fermentation process involving immersion in water for 80 hours. It was followed by 28 days of dark-room drying, which allowed for finer control over variables like humidity and temperature over an extended period that allowed for preservation of the coffee’s more volatile compounds, responsible for its distinctive, layered aroma, while also enhancing development of the coffee’s sweetness.
They do this through the purposeful implementation of traditional methods like the natural and honey processes, as well as intentional and innovative processing styles.
