In 1936, according to accounts of the collection, a British consul gathered coffee seeds in a forested region of southwestern Ethiopia. Those seeds went to Tanzania, then Costa Rica, then Panama. In 2004 the coffee they grew set an auction price that no coffee had reached before. Gesha is now the variety behind some of the highest prices ever paid for green coffee, and its history includes a spelling dispute, a brittle tree that farmers passed over and one very good year in Boquete.
Gesha is a variety
Gesha is a coffee variety, a distinct type of Arabica plant, much like a grape variety in wine. Arabica is the species. Gesha, Typica, Bourbon and Caturra are varieties within it. (See Arabica vs Robusta.)
Where the name comes from
World Coffee Research says the coffee was collected in Ethiopia in a region close to a mountain whose name is most commonly rendered in English as Gesha. The name is a transliteration of the Amharic name for the region. The local Kafa language had no written form until the 1990s, so no standard English spelling existed.
The coffee entered germplasm records as Geisha, and researchers and seed banks kept that spelling for decades. Many people in the industry now prefer Gesha because it sits closer to the place name. Some also point out that Geisha invites confusion with Japanese geisha entertainers. Both spellings are in use. World Coffee Research's catalog lists it as "Geisha (Panama)," and this post uses Gesha.
From a forest to a research station
A 1936 letter from a British consul in Ethiopia to the country's Minister of Agriculture describes samples collected from "Geisha" trees. World Coffee Research dates the collection to the 1930s.
The plants went to the Lyamungu research station in Tanzania. In 1953 the coffee reached CATIE, a research center in Costa Rica, where it was logged as accession T2722. It arrived in Panama in the 1960s, distributed after it had been recognized for tolerance to coffee leaf rust, a disease that damages coffee plants.
A variety farmers passed over
The rust tolerance did not make Gesha a hit. World Coffee Research notes that the plant's branches were brittle and that farmers did not favor it, so it was not widely planted. Trade accounts add that Boquete was struggling with rust in those years, and that without a specialty market paying for flavor, farmers went back to other varieties.
The auction that changed its reputation
In 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda, a farm run by the Peterson family in Boquete, separated its coffee into lots by area of the farm for the first time. It entered the Gesha from high on the property, in the Jaramillo area, into the Best of Panama competition.
The farm's own history says the coffee won, and that it was the first time judges had tasted a sample made of 100% Gesha. At auction it sold for $21 per pound, the highest price ever paid for a coffee at that point. World Coffee Research dates the win to 2005 and the farm's history says 2004. This post follows the farm.
Prices climbed from there. A natural-processed Gesha from Hacienda La Esmeralda sold for $601 per pound in 2017, and a natural from the Lamastus family's Elida Estate reached $1,029 per pound in 2019. Auction prices belong to a specific lot in a specific year, and they say little about what a regular bag costs.
What the plant is like
World Coffee Research rates Gesha as tall with low yield potential, average bean size and leaf tips that are green or bronze. The first fruit comes in year four. Farms plant 3,000 to 4,000 trees per hectare, and nutrition needs sit at medium.
The catalog rates its quality potential as exceptional at high altitude. It lists the best conditions above about 1,600 meters for farms within five degrees of the equator, above 1,300 meters between 5 and 15 degrees, and above 1,000 meters farther out.
On disease, the catalog gives Gesha intermediate resistance to leaf rust. It is susceptible to nematodes and to coffee berry disease, which is not currently present in Central America. World Coffee Research evaluated its yield and rust resistance at 23 sites in 15 countries in its International Multilocation Variety Trial, and notes that local performance depends on which races of rust are present. Beyond Panama, Gesha is also widely grown in Malawi.
What Gesha tastes like
World Coffee Research describes delicate floral, jasmine and peach-like aromas. Coffee professionals often describe it as tea-like, and bergamot, the citrus used to flavor Earl Grey tea, comes up regularly in tasting notes. Some sources add honey, black tea and tropical fruit.
Process changes the cup. Washed coffees are often described as cleaner and lighter in body, and naturals as fuller and fruitier. A natural-processed Gesha from a lower farm will taste different from a washed one grown higher up. A variety sets a plant's potential. Farm, altitude, process and roast shape what ends up in the cup.
Not every Gesha is the same plant
Genetic analysis by World Coffee Research confirms that the Panamanian Geisha descended from T2722 is distinct and uniform. The catalog also warns that the name is often applied to other coffees that do not share those genetics, and several genetically different plants from similar parts of Ethiopia have been sold as Geisha or Gesha. Ethiopia, the original home, now produces its own Gesha lots as well.
What to look for when you see Gesha on a label
A variety sets a plant's potential. Three other details on the bag tell you more about the cup.
- Farm and altitude. Higher, cooler farms are where Gesha is said to show its best.
- Process. Washed, natural and honey coffees from the same variety taste different. See Natural, Washed, Honey, Wet-Hulled.
- Roast. A lighter roast tends to keep more of a coffee's delicate aromatics. See What Roast Level Actually Does to Your Coffee.
FAQ
Is Gesha the same as Geisha?
Both spellings name the same coffee. World Coffee Research's catalog uses Geisha, and many roasters use Gesha.
Where is Gesha grown?
Panama made it famous. It also grows in its home region of Ethiopia and, according to World Coffee Research, widely in Malawi.
Why is Gesha so expensive?
Several things come together. Each tree gives little coffee, the best results come from high-altitude farms, lots are small, and buyers bid against each other at auction.
Does every Gesha taste like jasmine and peach?
No. Floral and jasmine notes are common in descriptions, and farm, altitude, process and roast all shape the result.
Keep exploring
Gesha is the first variety in our Coffee Varieties series. Typica, the plant that spread across the Americas, is next. If you want to find out which flavors suit you, the Taste Discovery Quiz is free: start.brewspecialty.coffee
Sources: World Coffee Research variety catalog (Geisha, Panama); Hacienda La Esmeralda, "Our Story"; Daily Coffee News, "Is It Geisha or Gesha? If Anything, It's Complicated" (2017), and its reports on the 2018 and 2019 Best of Panama auctions; Perfect Daily Grind on the 2017 record.
