We just got back to South Africa from beautiful (but very cold) Hamburg. Here are some pictures of the amazing Kaffee Roesterei at Speicherstadt where we tasted an interesting coffee blend named “Panama Geisha”.
The Panama Geisha is one of the most exclusive coffee varieties in the world, and has been given a great amount of international attention and awards, which is from the Hacienda La esmeralda in the south west of Panama.
The coffee farm is in the province of Chiriqui in it’s mountains which are about 1400-1700m high. It’s very fertile soil is the reason for it being an unmatchable coffee. The very rare “Geisha” Arabica originates from Ethiopia, and only at the beginning of the 1960s was it brought to Panama.
The cultivar, growing conditions and the professional workmanship of the subsequent treatment give this unique cultivar a strong body with delicious notes of jasmin and bergamotte (very similar to Earl Grey tea) and flavour of fine vanilla notes.
We liked the coffee although it was very different from an Italian roast coffee. We could taste the bergamotte and vanilla flavour but also got a hint of sourness at the end of the palate what we personally didn’t enjoy that much.
We really enjoyed the ‘Panama Geisha’ and would recommend to try all different blends at the Kaffee Roesterei in Hamburg, Germany. A very cool location and a beautiful place to be to watch the roasting process and smell the freshly ground coffee. We would definitely go again.
Awards:
Best of Panama: 1st Place (2010, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004)
Coffee of The Year: 2nd Place (2009, 2008)
Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004)
Specialty Coffee Association of America Roasters Guild Cupping Pavilion: 1st Place (2007, 2006, 2005)