Sea Island Geisha Costa Rica

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.

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