Geisha (Gesha) coffee was collected from Ethiopian forests in the 1930s. It passed through a research station in Tanzania and reached CATIE in Costa Rica in 1953.
In the 1960s it spread across Panama for its tolerance to leaf rust. Farmers disliked its brittle branches, so few planted it widely.
The Peterson family of Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete noticed that Geisha trees survived rust on their Jaramillo farm. They planted more of it, and in 2004 a separately processed Geisha lot won the Best of Panama competition at a record price.
In August 2025 a 20 kg washed Geisha from the same farm sold for $30,204 per kilogram.
What time is taking away
What the record says
- Geisha was collected from Ethiopian coffee forests in the 1930s and sent to the Lyamungu research station in Tanzania.2
- Geisha reached CATIE in Costa Rica in 1953, logged as accession T2722.2
- In the 1960s CATIE distributed Geisha across Panama for its rust tolerance, but farmers disliked its brittle branches.2
- A Panamanian farmer known as Don Pachi brought Geisha from CATIE in the 1960s, and Panama's mature Geisha trees trace back to his.3
- Rudolph A. Peterson bought Hacienda La Esmeralda in 1967, when it was mostly cattle pasture. The family bought the high Jaramillo farm in 1997.1
- A 100% Geisha lot from Jaramillo won the 2004 Best of Panama and set a record auction price.1,3
- At the August 2025 Best of Panama auction, a 98-point washed Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda sold for $30,204 per kilogram to Julith Coffee of Dubai.4
World Coffee Research dates the first record auction to 2005, while Esmeralda and Coffee Review say 2004. We used 2004 and flagged the conflict. The Esmeralda page is the farm's own marketing. Its origin story (Captain Richard Whalley collecting seeds in 1936) was not independently checked, so it is left out.
- Our Story · Hacienda La Esmeralda in the bibliography
- Geisha (Panama) · World Coffee Research, Arabica Coffee Varieties in the bibliography
- Understanding the Geisha Cultivar · Coffee Review, 2010 in the bibliography
- A Panama Gesha Broke Price Records Again · Sprudge, 2025 in the bibliography
