Sunday 10 February 2008

Hacienda Esmeralda

Petersen family that owns Esmeralda are focused on washed coffee. After they bought the Jaramillo Estate, Daniel Petersen discovered a difference between the cups in 1996 and started to process the different coffees at the farm separately. Little did he know then what he and his family really bought.
I can see why they bought Jaramillo Estate. Its more a garden than a plantation. I feel pretty small walking around among these about 40 year old Geishatrees and big squashy leaftrees I have never seen before. In the corner of my eye there is always this stunning view over the landscape.
After separate process they where unsure if the new coffee they found would be disqualified in the Best Of Panama competition. Everything about the coffee was so strange.
Geisha really is strange with its massive crisp and everlasting tropical fruits. This fourty year old Geisha is one of the most spectacular coffees ever entered the coffeescene in modern time and the Esmeralda Farm changed in some way a lot of peoples lifes for the better. Mine anyway...

Pine Geisha
When I visited Hacienda Esmeralda Rachel and Daniel invited me for a Geishacupping. Earlier that day Graciano and I had our daily cuppingbreakfast. With local fruits and a 200$ a pound NectarGeisha fresh in mind, my senses were up to a challenge.
We were cupping blindly, and blown away by a absolute crazy Geisha.
Rachel took me up the hills to have a look on that specific lot later that day, and for me it was a total surprice. The air was so rich that it felt like my lungs was twice as big. It was so quiet and it smelled so good up here. We were in a small pineforrest with three or four rows of 2,5 yearold Geishatrees. This was the winner of the day. - The babies who whup their parents ass.
I can barely wait until they have grown a couple of more years and developed even more.

Esmeralda has several small microlots like this and they will be auctioned in May.