The Untold Truth Of Geisha Coffee

Waking up without our morning cup of coffee feels impossible. According to E-Imports, Americans drink 400 million cups of the beverage each day, making the country the largest consumer of coffee in the world. With numbers like this, it comes as no surprise that many of us also try to seek out the best coffee we can. Anyone who frequents cafes or grocery stores have seen single-source Guatemalan, Colombian, or even Ethiopian coffee, but these roasts typically come with a price tag of $10 to $20 per pound (via Java Presse). If you think coffee shouldn't exceed this price, you most likely haven't tasted a cup of Geisha coffee.

According to Vine Pair, a pound of Geisha coffee from Panama's Lamastus Family Plantation recently sold for $1,029 after receiving an incredibly high score from the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama. This specialty coffee originated in Ethiopia, and while the strain requires very demanding conditions to grow properly, it has found its way to Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, and more (via Vine Pair). The premiere varieties gained prominence in Panama due to the country's mountainous microclimate and volcanic soil, creating a unique flavor profile from other Geisha strains that tastes like nothing else (via Vine Pair).

This coffee fetches such a steep price for a very good reason — according to Coffee Chronicler, the varietal has intense floral notes, with lingering flavors of peach, mango, lime, and bergamot. The special flavor and the rarity of the beans create a perfect storm that raises the price of the crop. According to Vine Pair, Elida Estate Coffee, a major supplier of the specialty beans, only produced 100 pounds of coffee in a year, making roasters and cafes enter a bidding war for the prime drink. As the demand for higher-quality coffee increases, the price continues to spike in response to the increase in curious coffee aficionados (via Vine Pair).

While the demand for specialty coffee rises, most of us who rely on regular coffee to get us going in the morning probably won't see a major difference in our coffee lives. While the Geisha varieties of coffee top out the high end of the coffee market, most average coffees continue to sell at $1 per pound, and those prices should remain consistent for the foreseeable future (via Vine Pair). As the Geisha beans continue to spread in popularity, we can hope to see them at a coffee shop near you sometime in the future. If you get a chance, take the plunge and taste why this coffee creates such a buzz — you won't regret it.