La Esmeralda

Thanks to the excellent folks at Cafe Grumpy, a bunch of us had the good fortune to meet two people behind the scrumptious Hacienda Esmeralda. Rachel and Daniel Peterson, whose grandfather bought the original farm, gave a brief presentation at the Grumpy's Chelsea store, followed by a little old-fashioned coffee slurping.

The exact origin of the Geisha variety that produces the world's most highly-regarded coffee is lost to history. We do know it was collected from wild plants somewhere in the Geisha area of Ethiopia in December 1964. Botanist types will be interested to note that the Geisha's obvious varietal characteristics would surely not portend greatness: sparse foliage, low yield, and resistance to coffee rust (a fungus disease). Why would a plant with those tendencies produce a great-tasting coffee????

But meticulous tasting of microlots by Daniel revealed that the small area of his family's coffee farm planted in Geisha produced extraordinary results. Careful lot tracking and processing ensure that the inherent quality is preserved. And the Petersons are not simply resting on their Geisha laurels. They have a full-blown testing program in progress with many related varieties being grown up and tasted. Perhaps the next superstar cultivar will soon emerge there.

Meanwhile, we happily slurped and spooned our way through some Clovered Esmeralda, marveling at its shimmering kaleidescope of exotic fruit. Thanks again, Cafe Grumpy!