Blind Assessment: Rich, lavish, elegantly sweet-tart and complexly layered. In aroma and cup, intricately expressed citrus (sweet lime, grapefruit, blood orange); spice (coriander, mace); lilac-like flowers; almond; cocoa. Grand but balanced in structure; plump and delicately syrupy in mouthfeel. Everything rounds and deepens in a flavor-saturated finish.

Notes: This exceptional coffee was selected as the No. 9 coffee on Coffee Review’s list of the Top 30 Coffees of 2017. This coffee also attracted the highest rating in a tasting of 20 coffees of the Geisha (also spelled Gesha) variety for Coffee Review‘s September 2017 tasting report. First planted by Don Enrique Vasquez, who is said to have brought the now celebrated Gesha variety to Panama from Costa Rica in 1898, these trees grow on the slopes of Volcan de Baru in Boquete at elevations between 5,000 and 5,700 feet. With its generally elongated beans and distinctive floral and crisp, often chocolaty, cup, the Gesha continues to distinguish itself as one of the world’s most unique coffees. This is a wet-processed or “washed” version, meaning the fruit skin and pulp were removed from the beans immediately after harvesting and before drying. Exclusive to Dragonfly Coffee Roasters, which purchased this lot at the Best of Panama auction. Dragonfly Coffee is a Boulder, Colorado-based micro-roaster that produces high-quality coffees and supports worthy causes. Visit www.dragonflycoffeeroasters.com or call 303-579-2154 for more information.  

The Bottom Line: Extraordinary shifting and intricate flavor and aroma supported by a flawless structure, classic in its sweet-tart balance.