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Last night, over a hundred people filled the Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea roasting facilities on West Fulton for a tasting of La Esmeralda Especial, the Panamanian Geisha coffee that made headlines in May when Intelligentsia paid $130 a pound for the beans at the "Best of Panama" auction. For the event, both Intelligentsia coffee buyer Geoff Watts and La Esmeralda estate owner Daniel Peterson were on hand to discuss the coffee and why it's become, in Watts' words, a "full-blown phenomenon."
After a lengthy introduction from Watts, where he reiterated Intelligentsia's approach to coffee and recounted his first exposure to La Esmeralda Especial, the floor was ceded to Peterson (pictured, left). Tall and soft-spoken, Peterson had an attentive audience as he explained how he finally discovered that he had something special growing right under his nose.
Peterson gave a brief lecture charting the migration of the Geisha coffee plant from its Ethiopian origins in the late 1930's, to its Central American introduction in Costa Rica in the 1950's, and eventually to Panama. He then switched gears and discussed the physical aspects of the Geisha tree, noting that it has fewer leaves spaced farther apart on the branches. It reduces the photosynthetic effects on the beans and results in a lower yield, but that yield is well-ventilated and very resistant to fungus. The La Esmeralda Geisha plants grow at an altitude of 1600 meters above sea level. These relatively milder climates (for an equatorial region) increase the acidity of the coffee cherries. During the harvest season, which in Panama runs from December to April, the ripe Geisha cherries are de-pulped, spread out to dry in the sun for about four days, then processed. It's a painstaking process, but it does result in a great-tasting coffee. The prominent notes of jasmine perfume and warm citrus that Watts said attracted him to the coffee are there, once the coffee cools. Fresh brewed, those notes are muted. Using a clover brewing machine that combines the soaking techniques of a French press with the extraction capabilities of a vacuum pump, cup after cup of La Esmeralda Especial made its way to the hands of eager guests, under the watchful eye of Intelligentsia director of quality control Sarah Kluth.
But is the coffee worth $99 for a half-pound? That depends on one's definition of disposable income and how much of it one has lying around. We know that Intelligentsia is looking for some return on its winning bid for the coffee, which is one reason why they're selling La Esmeralda at that price (and for $55 for a quarter-pound bag). We also wondered if the coffee's growing reputation might have had something to do with that, as well. It has won every competition in which it's been entered since its 2003 debut in Panama. We asked Peterson if he thought his coffee's reputation was such that it might sway judges based on pedigree, or the peculiar whims of the judges. Peterson replied, "If you ever met these judges, you'd have no worries about that. They are some of the most serious coffee drinkers I've ever met."
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So, Chuck, how did it taste???
Watts did help put the cost/quality issue into perspective as well, by drawing a parallel between Geisha, and a good single-malt scotch or fine wine. This ain't a pedestrian coffee bean and should not be consumed as such. It's just that most people don't think of coffee in the same terms as fine wines and liquors. I think Intelligentsia is doing a good job of helping cultivate that segment via Geisha and its other specialty beans.
I agree with Chuck, the flavors really came out after letting it cool for a couple of minutes. It is a great, complex, tasty coffee. When tasted with some of Intelligentsia's other coffees (which were available at this event), it was clear to me why this had won so many awards.
Those who registered for the event received 1/2lb of La Esmeralda beans from a non-auction lot, and I'll be interested to see how those compare to Geisha.
Paragraph 3, two-thirds of the way down, you'll find my tasting notes.
Your review = "great-tasting coffee", that's it?
For $99 a half pound the better throw in an eighth of hydro.
just to be a dick i would put french vanilla half n half in mine.
@Stephen: The non-auction beans are Geisha, they're just not the cream of the crop. Though neither Daniel nor Geoff really indicated just how far down the cupping ladder they are from the auction lot. I would imagine that they'll be hard to distinguish from one another, rather like the difference in quality between a CD and an MP3 of the same music.
matty- that is hilarious. French Vanilla half and half and lots of Sweet and Low.
@Stephen: I did enjoy Geoff's statement that "putting milk or sugar into this coffee would be like dumping sugar into your single malt Scotch". Also, nice to meet you.
About the coffee: It was good. It was really quite good. Sorry I can't offer any more gripping detail than that. I won't be getting any more of the auction lot, but may get some of the non-auction (if the test run in my french press goes well).
And to be nice... thanks to Chris from Mill Park for making us coffee all night.
Obviously this is a simple media game. We pay an outrageous amount for some coffee beans and we make the news. Every "craft" food or beverage genre has their own version. I'm sure the beans are all that, but Intelligentsia's popularity is already large due to the fact that people that love coffee rave about it. I was at Stumptown Coffee in Portland and when the guy saw me smelling and looking into the coffee (I really know little about coffee) he asked where I was from. They all know people from Intelligentsia and were praising it. I hope this little expensive as hell bean thing helps lead to more awesome coffees and not just making Intelligentsia the "coffeee place that sells the most expensive half pound of coffee in the world". Besides everyone knows the best coffee has to be pooped out of a Luwak. Ha.
Geoff had a few money quotes last night. Near the end of his presentation he said, "the world has never been willing to pay for great coffee." I let that roll around in my head on the train ride home. It's clear that Intelligentsia thinks the opposite. Their success, and seeing a warehouse full of people gathered around to drink coffee, shows how far they've come and how far they've yet to go to change that perception.
Personally I like my coffee to taste like COFFEE, not flowers or fruit. That's why I drink freshly roasted Kona Coffee, a classic cup of coffee if there ever was one.