Panama Esmeralda Private Reserve Geisha Washed

As we near the peak of the holidays at Willoughby's we are offering some scarcer geisha varietal coffees and we will continue to add to them over the coming days. Up this week only is Panama Hacienda Esmeralda Private Collection Geisha in a washed process.

Panama Esmeralda Private Reserve Geisha represents a great bargain in one of the world's most expensive and sought after coffees - Esmeralda Special - which is sold only through a privately held international auction for professional roasters. Each year for the past several years, Hacienda Esmeralda has held a private auction of their prized Geisha varietal, each Esmeralda Special lot coming from a specific plot of land on their farm. Altogether there is not much coffee, only about 20,000 pounds, which must fill a big demand from all corners of the world (this may sound like a lot but is only half of one shipping container). Competition for the coffee is fierce and prices go very high. By the time the coffee reaches roasters around the world it is not uncommon for it to sell for hundreds of dollars per pound.

Fortunately, for the past few years Esmeralda has released their "second coffee", the 100% Panama Esmeralda Private Reserve Geisha. As in the wine world where the second wine of the very top chateaux are fabulous wines in their own right, still costly but a relative bargain. Lafite-Rothschild has its Lafite Rothschild Carruades de Lafite; Chateau Latour its Les Forts de Latour. These wines would be great in anyone's book, but they are withheld, often for a tiny detail, from being in the rarefied top lot. The same holds true for Esmeralda Private Reserve Geisha. This is a wonderful coffee, exhibiting much of the same lovely jasmine, floral and lemony tones witnessed in the auction lots but at less than the price.

There is only a very limited supply of this coffee too. It comes from three growing plots on the Hacienda Esmeralda farm which range in altitude from 1450 to 1800 meters (4750 to 5910 feet).  The plot we have gravitated toward has been their Canas Verde, which is often where their top and winning lots come from.  At this price, Panama Esmeralda Private Reserve Geisha may not casually seem a bargain, but it is considerably less than half the price of its sibling and almost the same taste experience. We really feel that the Geisha varietal is well represented in this coffee and that you will thoroughly enjoy it.

Naturally, every detail of growing and processing has been done at the farm to produce this fine, washed coffee. The finished green beans arrived at our roasting plant in vacuum packaging ready for us to take it the rest of the way in roasting it for you.

Barry (left) and Price Peterson, founder Hacienda Esmeralda