Introduction to Ethiopian Gesha Village Coffee Estate Wild Gesha Coffee Beans Gold Label Red Label Chaka Characteristics and Flavor

When we talk about Geisha in daily conversation, we usually refer to Geisha from Panama, represented by Hacienda La Esmeralda. Since its unique flavor was specifically identified in 2003, it has consistently become a champion in various green bean competitions, including BOP. In FrontStreet Coffee's daily brewing, Panama Geisha presents rose aromatics and citrus notes, much like a cup of floral and fruity tea.

Hacienda La Esmeralda stands out as one of the leaders, first as the earliest discoverer of Geisha, second because Geisha has won BOP championships year after year, and third because it established its own quality system. Several years later, Gesha Village also adopted its own grading system. FrontStreet Coffee had previously detailed its history in an article about Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha. Compared to Panama Geisha, Gesha Village's Geisha, while sharing the same name, is actually a completely unrelated coffee variety. This can be distinguished by the appearance of the two beans. FrontStreet Coffee will discuss it separately as Ethiopia's Geisha variety.

What is Gesha Village Coffee Estate?

In 2007, documentary director Adam Overton and his photographer wife Rachel Samuel, while filming a documentary about Ethiopian coffee for the Ethiopian government, came across the Gera coffee forest in the Bench-Maji region. During this process, they not only rediscovered this great land of Ethiopia but also developed the idea of establishing their own coffee estate and brand.

In 2009, they had the good fortune to meet Willem Boot, the renowned owner of Don Mayo and BOP judge. Willem Boot's return to Ethiopia with the idea of "finding Geisha's birthplace" provided an opportunity for the couple. In 2011, they returned to Bench-Maji, where several areas were called Gesha Village, also the most likely region to find the original Geisha variety.

Adam followed Willem Boot on expeditions into the surrounding forests. In a dense jungle (called Gori Gesha Forest), they discovered multiple wild coffee varieties, with the most exciting find being the original Geisha variety. They collected seeds from the original Geisha trees, screened them, and then planted them in Gesha Village. They decided to establish the estate here, naming it Gesha Village Coffee Estate.

Gesha Village Coffee Estate is located in western Ethiopia, Bench Maji region, surrounded by dense jungle. The location of Gesha Village boasts beautiful scenery and pleasant climate, with views of ancient and vast forests from higher elevations. The estate owners Adam and Rachel searched for three years to find the suitable estate, guided by locals to Geisha's original homeland forest. It is a two-day drive from the capital Addis Ababa.

Gesha Village Coffee Estate covers approximately 471 hectares, with about 320 hectares dedicated to coffee cultivation in reddish-brown loamy soil. Planting density is maintained at 7,000 coffee trees per hectare. The plot is named "Oma" after a respected and beloved religious leader. Gesha Village's coffee beans are full of complex flavors and are extremely rare, often selected by international competing baristas for competitions. Due to their maintenance of the local ecological environment and good cooperative relationships with local residents, they established the Gesha Village Foundation to give back to the local community, promoting educational development through two schools near the estate.

Grading System

Gesha Village Coffee Estate has a strict internal grading system, including Auction, Gold Label, Red Label, Green Label, and CHAKA batches.

Auction Batches

Accounting for only 3.7% of Gesha Village's total annual production, these are the most rigorously selected top batches from the estate, only available through the 2018 Gesha Village Coffee Estate Global Auction. The 2018 auction batches had cupping scores ranging from 88.15-92.67 points, further divided into Champion's Reserve and Farm Reserve. For example, Gesha Village 2018 Auction Lot RSV.6 belongs to the auction batch.

Gold Label Batches

Gold label coffee beans account for about 10% of Gesha Village Coffee Estate's total annual production, with complex flavors and extreme rarity. This grade is the most premium green bean from Gesha Village besides auction batches. Many baristas choose Gold label batches for competition use, while quality-conscious roasters also procure them. They have complete traceability, with prominent and highly complex flavors in each batch.

Gesha Village Oma 059 - Gesha Village Oma Batch 059

Grade: Rarities (Gold) Label

Processing: Natural (32 days)

Variety: Gesha 1931

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Bench Maji

Altitude: 1,931-2,040 meters

Water ratio: 1:15 | Grind size: Medium-coarse (80% pass-through on #20 screen) | Water temperature: 91°C | Brewing device: V60

Technique: 30ml water bloom for 30s, pour in stages to 125ml taking 1 minute, then pour to 225ml by 1 minute 50 seconds. Total extraction time: 2 minutes 10 seconds.

Flavor description: Fermented wine aroma, citrus-kumquat acidity, full-bodied berry juice.

Red Label Batches

Red label coffee beans account for about 15% of Gesha Village Coffee Estate's total annual production. These are batches with complete traceability, cupping scores exceeding 88 points (SCA standard), and typical Gesha Village flavors. The flavor intensity and complexity are slightly weaker than Gold label batches, making them an excellent value single-origin batch.

Gesha Village Coffee Estate Grower Reserve

FrontStreet Coffee: Gesha Village Red Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Region: Bench Maji

Altitude: 1909-2069m

Variety: Gori Gesha

Processing: Natural

FrontStreet Coffee barista brewing recommendations:

Water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: Fine sugar grind (EK43s setting 10)

Water temperature: 91°C

Brewing device: V60

Technique: 30ml water bloom for 35s, pour in stages to 125ml taking 1'00, then pour to 225ml by 1'50. Total extraction time: 2'10.

Flavor: Coconut, licorice, cream, chocolate, toffee, citrus, almond, strawberry, with fermented aroma. Overall flavor is well-balanced, with rich mouthfeel and prominent nutty flavors.

Green Label Batches

Green label batches come from single plots and single varieties at Gesha Village Coffee Estate. Green label batches provide complete traceability information for each batch number, including farm plot name, coffee variety, and processing date.

CHAKA Batches

CHAKA batches blend coffee from all estate plots and throughout the entire production season. CHAKA batch coffees come in both natural and washed processing methods, containing three coffee varieties from Gesha Village: Gesha 1931, Gori Gesha, and Illubabor.

Gori Gesha (GG)

This variety replicates the genetic diversity found within the Gori Gesha coffee forest.

Gesha 1931 (G31)

A combination of varieties from different forests, very similar to Panama Geisha, selected through observation of plant morphology, bean appearance, screen size, and cupping flavor.

Illubabor Forest 1974 (IF)

Discovered during a 1974 expedition to the Illubabor Forest, later developed by the Ethiopian Research Center into a resistant variety.

Gesha Village Coffee Estate CHAKA

FrontStreet Coffee: Gesha Village CHAKA Batch

Region: Bench Maji

Altitude: 1900-2100m

Variety: Gori Gesha, Gesha 1931, Illubabor

Processing: Natural

FrontStreet Coffee barista brewing recommendations:

Water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: Fine sugar (EK43s setting 10)

Water temperature: 91°C

Brewing device: Hario V60

Technique: 30g water bloom for 35s, pour in stages to 125g taking 1 minute 00, then pour to 225ml by 1 minute 50 seconds. Total extraction time: 2 minutes 10.

Flavor: Light fermented aroma, with citrus and grapefruit acidity, creamy, chocolate, and caramel flavors. Gentle flavor profile.

Processing Methods

Gold label, Red label, and CHAKA are all natural processed.

First, floating debris and impurities are removed, then thin layers are covered with plastic sheets on African raised beds for sun-drying. During drying on the beds, further screening is conducted to remove insect-damaged beans and green-colored coffee beans. Total drying time is 18-30 days.

Gesha Village Estate Plot Division

Gesha Village's estate owners have very detailed plot numbering systems to facilitate later management and flavor traceability.

Area and Planting Varieties by Plot in Gesha Village

The western side of the estate has relatively higher terrain, so OMA, SURMA, and SHEWA-JIBABU plots have slightly higher altitudes. The south has relatively more shade coverage, while the north receives longer sun exposure. Among the eight plots, estate managers select the most suitable variety for each plot based on microclimate differences such as altitude, soil conditions, and shade coverage (as shown in the figure above), ensuring each major plot can form distinct characteristics.

2018 Gesha Village Auction Batches

Gesha Village auctions began in 2017. Due to instances where auction batches and non-auction batches shared the same batch number on the market, Gesha Village implemented major reforms this year. All 2018 auction batches were independent batches. The selection process for auction batches lasted nearly 3 months, with multiple rounds of repeated cupping to finally determine 31 auction batches.

Multiple Rigorous Selections for Auction Batches

The first round of selection began in late January, with estate owners Adam and Rachel in Ethiopia, along with their quality control team and Willem Boot's consulting team in the United States, simultaneously cupping various batches that had been rested for more than 6 weeks after harvest. During cupping, to prevent different results due to varying order, each batch must undergo at least two rounds of cupping in different sequence arrangements to ensure accuracy.

2018 Gesha Village Auction Batches Adding Screen Size Indicators

Finally, the estate owners and team selected the best 31 batches from 117 batches. But to further enhance the flavor of these 31 batches, the team conducted a new series of tests. By comparing different screen sizes, they found that larger beans performed better in cupping. Therefore, they decided that for auction batches, Gesha 1931 would be screen size 17 and above, while Gori Gesha and Illubabor would be screen size 16 and above. However, since Ethiopia's existing screen size equipment can only screen beans 14 and above, estate owner Adam purchased dozens of screens used in coffee laboratories from the United States and hired many workers to manually screen the auction batch beans.

Manual Selection of Coffee Beans

After round after round of cupping, the 2018 Gesha Village auction batches were finally determined, divided into Champion's Reserve (7 batches, each only 90kg) and Farm Reserve (24 batches, each only 120kg), totaling 31 batches. Among them, 26 were natural processed, 4 were washed processed, and 1 was honey processed.

Proportion of Different Plots in Auction Batches

In the auction batches, the proportion of the three coffee varieties at Gesha Village was: Gesha 1931 accounting for 69.1%, Gori Gesha accounting for 27.5%, and Illubabor accounting for 3.4%.

2019 Gesha Village Auction Batches

The 2019 Gesha Village Global Auction kicked off in June. According to Gesha Village Coffee Estate auction manager Willem Boot, the 2019 Gesha Village quality control team evaluated over 130 batches, selecting high-quality batches scoring above 88 points for auction. They were: Champion Reserve batches (7 batches with the highest cupping scores), Farm Reserve batches (13 batches with excellent performance), and Innovators Reserve batches (6 experimental batches with special processing methods).

Champion Reserve Batches (7 Varieties / 14 Batches)

Champion Reserve batches bring together the best batches from the 2019 harvest season at Gesha Village. Each Champion Reserve batch scored above 90 points and showed extraordinary characteristics in cupping, from stunning jasmine aromatics to charming, delicate, complex fruit flavors of strawberry, peach, and papaya.

Farm Reserve Batches (13 Varieties / 13 Batches)

Farm Reserve batches are the estate's high-end products with excellent flavors, all scoring 88 points or above in cupping. Rich fruit flavors and expressive aromatics are the characteristics of this batch, which will bring unforgettable flavor experiences.

Innovators Reserve Batches (6 Varieties / 6 Batches)

Innovators Reserve batches use distinctive special processing methods, employing innovative techniques in fermentation and drying to introduce extremely complex flavors to coffee, providing profound sensory experiences for coffee lovers.

FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Gold Label Roasting Profile

Besides auction batches which are obtained through bidding (uncertain price), the best products are the Gold label series. FrontStreet Coffee also purchased Gold label batches from Gesha Village. FrontStreet Coffee used medium-light roasting for these beans. Here is FrontStreet Coffee's roasting profile:

FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Gold Label Cupping Flavor

Within 8-24 hours after roasting completion, FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping to determine the flavor profile of the Gold label Geisha. Here are FrontStreet Coffee's flavor descriptions from cupping this Gold label coffee bean: white floral notes, lemon, honey, citrus, juicy sensation, apricot.

FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Gold Label Brewing Parameters

Coffee grounds: 15 grams

Ratio: 1:15

Water temperature: 90°C

Grind size: 0.85mm (80% pass-through on #20 screen)

Dripper: Hario V60 #01

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans for brewing to maximize the rich flavors of coffee. The coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness has a great impact on flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when it arrives. The coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it's at its peak flavor.

Brewing process: First pour 30g of water and bloom for 30 seconds, second pour 95g of water (scale shows 125g), completed in about 1 minute, third pour 100g of water (scale shows 225g), completed in about 1 minute 30 seconds.

Extraction time: 2 minutes, remove the dripper to complete brewing.

Flavor description: Citrus, floral notes, berries, cream, smooth, medium acidity, medium sweetness, moderate aftertaste.

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