image

Sea Island Geisha Costa Rica

Sea Island Geisha Costa Rica
Sea Island Geisha Costa Rica
Country: Costa Rica
Brand: Sea Island
Rating:

This week I'm returning to Sea Island, by way of their Geisha Costa Rica coffee.

The 'Geisha' in the name is actually the variety of coffee bean; an Arabica bean that was introduced to Costa Rica from Ethiopia in the 1950s, and has recently been making something of a comeback.

This coffee comes from the Coffea Diversa plantation, which apparently grows the largest number of varieties in the world – around 200 different ones, many of them not grown commercially anywhere else.

Geisha Costa Rica is a medium roasted coffee, with a wonderfully fruity aroma – fresh, light and sweet strawberries, with a little toasted chestnut underneath and just a hint of dark, bitter chocolate.

Brewed, the fruitiness becomes more citrus but remains sweet – more of a lemon curd than raw lemon. The chocolate hint is lost, but there's still a nice underlying nuttiness.

In the mouth, the sweetness is still there but is much less pronounced. It has a decent body, with a slightly creamy, chocolate start that's quickly joined by a tart, redcurrant tone and some nicely building tannic notes in the finish.

Overall, a very nice coffee that better justifies its price to me than their Hawaii Kona – 4 stars.



This review was originally published 15th September, 2014. It was last updated 1st June, 2023.