{"id":592,"date":"2015-06-13T09:04:32","date_gmt":"2015-06-13T15:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=592"},"modified":"2018-12-22T15:10:50","modified_gmt":"2018-12-22T21:10:50","slug":"review-square-one-panama-la-esmerelda-gesha-lancaster-pa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=592","title":{"rendered":"Review: Square One Panama La Esmeralda Gesha (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I picked up this bag of Square One\u00a0at a\u00a0Gregorys Coffee<\/a>\u00a0location\u00a0in New York City, and I have been impatiently looking forward to\u00a0tasting it. Now, for those who are not aware, Gesha (or Geisha – it’s spelled both ways and no one seems to know which way is “right”) coffees have a reputation for being extra-special compared to “regular” coffees. The La Esmeralda farm in Panama produces some of the most sought-after Gesha beans in the world, with prices for the top-grade beans (Esmeralda Special) sometimes topping $100\/lb roasted. This particular bag, which was identified on the Square One website as an\u00a0Esmeralda Boquete, is from the “second-tier” of the Esmeralda Farm. These beans, while still expensive at $20\/12 oz, are a relative bargain as they exhibit many of the same qualities as the top-tier Esmeralda Special but didn’t quite meet the criteria for that classification.<\/p>\n

This actually is the second Gesha I’ve had the opportunity to try. The first was at the first coffee cupping I ever attended years ago, and I remember thinking that coffee was extremely delicate, more akin to tea than coffee. I was underwhelmed then because I was a fan of thick, dark, assertive brews at the time, but my tastes have changed and I was very curious to see what I would think of this coffee.<\/p>\n

This was not a typical tasting for me as I chose to open this bag at a coffee cupping I hosted at my home, so I did not brew this in multiple methods. During the cupping, we brewed the coffee closest in style to French press, as I ground the coffee coarsely and let it steep for 4 minutes before we tasted. However, prior to brewing, we all smelled the freshly ground coffee and I think my fellow cuppers can attest to the fact that I had a huge, silly grin on my face. This coffee smells DELICIOUS. It had such a sweet, candy-esque fragrance to it that I remarked that I don’t think I would have been able to identify it as coffee if blindfolded. Very striking aromas – a little bit tropical with warm spice.<\/p>\n

This was such a complex coffee that was unlike almost anything I had ever tasted so it was very difficult to pin down the flavors.\u00a0After steeping the coffee, I tasted the brew and wrote: Incredibly sweet. Cherry? Cardamom.<\/p>\n

Other observations from the other tasters: Nutty, sweet aroma. Baked goods. Sweet, fruity. Brighter, increased fruit flavor as it cools. Raspberry and vanilla cake.<\/p>\n

We may not have matched the tasting notes from the roaster at all, but I think this just says more about the complexity of this coffee vs. our palates (at least, that’s what I’d like to think, haha).<\/p>\n

I was the only one of the four of us to know what we were drinking, since we cupped the coffees “blind” and I only revealed what they were after we finished. Of the four coffees we cupped that day, this was the favorite of three out of the four tasters. We proceeded to brew a Chemex full of this Gesha, and it was stunning. I like to order and purchase a wide variety of coffee and I rarely buy the same coffee twice within a few months, but this coffee blew me away enough that I placed an online order for another bag right after we finished our cupping. It is THAT good. If you have always wanted to try a Gesha but have been scared away by the $50-65\/8 oz price, try this one!!<\/p>\n

Edited to add: Over the span of a week or so, I tried this coffee in all my usual methods (V60, AeroPress, Chemex, french press). It was good all ways, but shone most in the french press. What a beauty.<\/p>\n

From the roaster: Honeysuckle, almond, plum<\/p>\n

Square One La Esmeralda Panama Gesha<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I picked up this bag of Square One\u00a0at a\u00a0Gregorys Coffee\u00a0location\u00a0in New York City, and I have been impatiently looking forward to\u00a0tasting it. Now, for those who are not aware, Gesha (or Geisha – it’s spelled both ways and no one seems to know which way is “right”) coffees have a reputation for being extra-special compared […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"Gesha? Geisha? Who cares - this is outstanding coffee, and this particular bag is one of the best deals I've ever seen for the quality you get!","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[6,159,13,3,154],"tags":[96,99,98,97,94,95,89,81],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/tn_IMG_1021.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3044,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=3044","url_meta":{"origin":592,"position":0},"title":"Review: Heart Coffee Roasters Panama Geisha Hacienda la Esmeralda (Portland, Oregon)","date":"April 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a coffee I was absolutely salivating to try as soon as I saw an email alert that it was available! The first Geisha coffee I ever reviewed for this blog was from Square One Coffee Roasters, and it was their Panama La Esmeralda Boquete. It was my top-ranked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Central America"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/tn_IMG-1689-e1522429168592.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5356,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=5356","url_meta":{"origin":592,"position":1},"title":"The best of 2018","date":"December 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I always come to the last few weeks of the year unsure about if I've had enough \"good\" coffee to fill up a top 10 list... until I skim over all of the reviews I've written over the past 50+ weeks. Then, I'm always like \"oh yeah!!!\" It's like looking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Advice"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/IMG-5732-e1545445900354.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3105,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=3105","url_meta":{"origin":592,"position":2},"title":"Review: Ruby Coffee Roasters Ethiopia Gesha Village Bangi Gori Gesha (Nelsonville, Wisconsin)","date":"May 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This particular coffee, from the Ruby Coffee Roasters website, intrigued me as soon as I read about it. I haven't had the chance to try too many Ethiopian Geisha (also spelled Gesha) coffees, and this one was pretty reasonably priced, in my opinion ($23 for 12 oz). Most of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AeroPress"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/tn_IMG-1911-e1525986851246.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6694,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=6694","url_meta":{"origin":592,"position":3},"title":"Review: Native Coffee Company Colombia Hachi – Kintsugi (Dallas, Texas)","date":"May 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Native Coffee Company's exceptional roasts been the best discovery I've made in coffee in years, and the fact that they have a showroom\/cafe based here in Dallas (where I'm based) makes it even better! This roaster has a special line of beans called Hachi (focusing on innovative coffee processing techniques),\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hall of Fame (my favorite coffees)"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_0408-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1735,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=1735","url_meta":{"origin":592,"position":4},"title":"The Best of 2015","date":"December 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This time of year, indie-music snobs the world over take great pleasure in making and criticizing each others' year-end best-of lists. I didn't make a list of my favorite albums because I really didn't buy very many\u00a0this year (though, I do have a favorite album - \"Carrie and Lowell\" by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Advice"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/tn_FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2903,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=2903","url_meta":{"origin":592,"position":5},"title":"Review: Blue Bottle Coffee California Good Land Organics Gesha Blend (Oakland, California)","date":"January 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"While I'll be writing this post up like a normal coffee review, this really feels like a bit of a historical event due to the beans themselves. 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