This extremely rare, unique, and sublime honey geisha, which took 3rd place in this year’s Taiwan Cup of Excellence competition, is easily one of the releases we’ve been most excited to share with the public. We are honored to be the very first roastery in the United States to release a COE lot from Taiwan, and to have the opportunity to work with such an outstanding coffee as this—all thanks to the meticulous, tireless work of Huang Baosi and Melastoma Estate. When cupping through all 27 of this year’s Taiwan COE lots, Baosi’s jumped out immediately as being a definite standout, and remained a head above the rest for us through multiple rounds of blind cuppings. When enjoying this one, we find a delicate bouquet of lavender florals, supported by a bright splash of juicy watermelon—two qualities whose presence reminds us of some of the best Panamanian geishas we have tasted, like a washed Janson lot. Also in the cup, we find a substantial, lingering, and creamy body with notes of light caramel, immediately reminding us of creme brulee. Melastoma Estate, located in Taiwan’s Chiayi County at 1.300 masl, is a relatively new arrival to the Taiwanese specialty coffee scene, being founded by Huang Baosi in 2016. Despite the brevity of their presence, the lots we tasted from them have us convinced that they have quickly realized their stated goal of becoming one of Taiwan’s most lauded coffee farms. Before cultivating coffee, Baosi farmed exclusively tea, which he continues to do today; he said that he has taken much of his expertise in tea growing, and applied it to the cultivation of high-specialty coffee, such as this lot. Geisha is one of the most prized varietals of coffee due to its absolutely exceptional potential for quality, and particularly intense, even perfumed florality, sweetness, and clarity of flavor. Geisha is an Ethiopian heirloom varietal, having been first identified in the 1930s in the forests of Gori Gesha. The varietal first attracted global attention in 2005, when the Peterson family of Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, Panama entered a lot of geisha grown on their estate into the Best of Panama competition, and won. Ever since, geisha has come to enjoy the status of the most lauded varietal of coffee in commercial cultivation, and is heavily represented among winning lots in Cup of Excellence competitions annually. All coffee is sold whole-bean to reduce oxidization, and increase the longevity of volatile organic compounds.