Panama - Hacienda La Esmeralda - Gesha
Location: Palmira, Boquete, Chiriquí
Farm: Cañas Verdes
Farmer: Rachel Peterson, Hacienda La Esmeralda
Harvest Date: January 2023
Received Date: August 2023
Varietal: Gesha (Lino)
Growing Altitude: 1700 masl
Processing Method: Washed
Total Volume Ordered: 360 kg
Roast: Light Roast, suitable for both espresso & filter
Flavour Notes: Jasmine, Lemon Zest & Honey
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About the farm
The lands that make up Hacienda La Esmeralda were first brought together as a single estate by a Swede named Hans Elliot in 1940. This land comprised several hundred hectares in what are now the Palmira and Cañas Verdes farms. In 1967, a Swedish- American banker by the name of Rudolph A. Peterson (1904-2003) bought Hacienda La Esmeralda as a retirement venture. At the time, the land was predominantly pasture for beef cattle, with some small smatterings of coffee mixed in.
By 1975 the Petersons had switched the farms over to dairy cattle which performed quite well and continues to make up half of Esmeralda’s farm land today. In the mid- 80s, the family was looking to further diversify and coffee, with its rich production history in the Boquete region, was a perfect opportunity.
Coffee had been growing on lands in and around Hacienda La Esmeralda since at least 1890. It was this huge reservoir of coffee knowledge and culture that helped the Petersons redevelop much of their land for coffee farming and even make their first coffee farm expansion at Palmira in 1988. It bears mentioning that coffee at this time was almost exclusively an undifferentiated, mass-market, endeavor in Panama. It was not until the mid-1990s that some North American coffee buyers started talking about Specialty Coffee widely.
In 1997 the Petersons purchased the land that became the Jaramillo Farm. This plot on the sides of Volcan Baru was selected for its high altitude, in hopes of developing higher scoring, livelier and more nuanced coffees. That said, it was only by serendipity that the famous Geisha coffee was planted on this farm.
Source: haciendaesmeralda.com
About the coffee
It is our second season buying from Hacienda La Esmeralda, and this year we bought a total of 540 kilos of their Geshas. Lino is the first release of this season's purchasing, and the biggest one. Lino is a lot located in the Cañas Verdes Farm, located at 1700 masl. This lot is characterised by a high sweetness and high acidity, with notes of Jasmine, Red Apple, Lemon Zest and Honey, you can also find some stonefruit, it is a washed processed coffee that offers a very clean and bright cup.
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Learn more about this varietal on the World Coffee Research.
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