Gesha
Also called Geisha, Panama Gesha, Gesha 1931
The jasmine-scented Ethiopian variety that set auction records after Panama's 2004 Best of Panama.
- Species
- Coffea arabica
- Lineage
- Gesha forest, south-west Ethiopia (collected 1930s)
- Stature
- Tall
- Yield
- Low
- Best altitude
- 1,500–2,300 m
- Leaf rust
- Some tolerance
- Quality
- Exceptional at altitude
Where it grows
- Gori Gesha forest, Ethiopia (where it began)
- Boquete, Panama
- Huila, Colombia
- Tarrazú, Costa Rica
About
Seeds were collected near the Gesha (Gori Gesha) forest of Ethiopia in the 1930s and passed through research stations in Kenya, Tanzania and Costa Rica, where it was kept for its rust tolerance rather than flavour.
In 2004 Hacienda La Esperanza in Boquete, Panama entered a separately harvested lot in the Best of Panama competition. Its floral, tea-like profile stunned judges, and Panama Gesha has since sold for well over US$1,000 per kilo at auction.
From Wikipedia
Gesha coffee, sometimes referred to as Geisha coffee, is a variety of coffee tree that originated in the Gori Gesha forest, Ethiopia, though it is now grown in several other nations in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. It is widely known for its unique flavor profile of floral and sweet notes, its high selling price, and its exclusivity as its demand has increased over the years.
While there are many varieties labeled gesha (or geisha), the Panamanian Geisha has a distinct and verifiable genetic fingerprint. Outside Panama, Geisha is also widely cultivated in Malawi.
After its discovery in Ethiopia, it was sent to the Tengeru (now Lyamungu) Coffee Research Station in Tanzania. In 1953, plants successfully cultivated at Lyamungu as VC-496 were taken to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Costa Rica and recorded as accession T2722. From there, CATIE distributed it throughout Central America. In 2005, the Peterson family of Boquete, Panama, entered a Geisha coffee into the Best Of Panama competition. It won the competition and sold for a then-record price of US$770/kilogram (US$350/pound). In 2025, a lot of washed Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda established a new Best of Panama record of US$30,204/kilogram (US$13,700.3/pound).
Text from the Wikipedia article Geisha (coffee) by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0.