The Origin of Ethiopian Gesha Village Estate - Does Gesha Coffee Really Originate from Gesha Village?

The Origin and Development of Gesha Village Coffee Estate

The owner of Gesha Village Coffee Estate is Adam Overton, a genuine American who wasn't originally a coffee shop owner but rather a documentary filmmaker. His wife, Rachel Samuel, is Ethiopian and works as a photographer. In 2007, the couple was commissioned to Ethiopia to shoot a documentary about coffee. As the filming progressed and their contact with Ethiopia's land and people deepened, the dream of establishing their own estate began to blossom.

In 2009, they met Willem Boot. Willem Boot is Dutch and his family ran a coffee shop before he immigrated to the United States and joined the coffee roaster company Probat. In 2004, he served as a judge for BOP (Best of Panama), which was the first time the Geisha variety appeared in competition. After tasting it, he was absolutely astounded—it was so good it made him feel like he could fly. So in 2006, he purchased La Mula estate, which was then a relatively unknown small estate, and planted 6,000 Geisha trees.

In the 2014 BOP competition, La Mula estate participated for the first time and won first place and eleventh place in the Natural Geisha category. Other famous estates like Hacienda La Esmeralda, Kotowa, and Elida were defeated by this estate that had only existed for 8 years. Willem Boot's greatest wish was to return to Ethiopia and find the original land where Geisha was born.

In 1931, the Geisha coffee variety was found in a forest called Geisha Mountain in Ethiopia. Later, it was brought back to Costa Rica for cultivation by Don Pachi and then distributed to other estates. Initially, it was a low-yield variety with strong mold resistance and tall trees, so many estates planted it on the edges as windbreaks. Until 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda separated it out, entered it in competition, and it became famous overnight.

After meeting Willem Boot, Adam and his wife deepened their idea of establishing a Geisha estate in Ethiopia. So they flew to Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. Initially, they hoped to build the estate in a location relatively close to the capital. But considering the microclimate, soil, and other natural environmental conditions they observed in Panama, they finally settled in the Bench-Maji region, located in southwestern Ethiopia near South Sudan. That area had many places called "Geisha Village" and was the most likely region to find the original Geisha. So they decided to establish their estate here and named it "Gesha Village Coffee Estate."

In 2011, Willem Boot came to the estate's groundbreaking ceremony and served as its consultant. Something magical happened—near the estate, in a primary forest called Gori Geisha by locals, they discovered coffee native varieties very similar to those at La Mula estate. The entire forest was filled with the aroma of coffee flowers. They deeply believed this was the place where Geisha was originally found, and this variety was the original native species. Later variety identification confirmed this belief. So the estate planted two types of Geisha: one was Gori Gesha from this forest, and the other was the Geisha 1931 variety that was originally discovered.

Only a few estates in the world can hold their own auctions, the most famous being Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda, Guatemala's El Injerto, Brazil's Daterra, Nicaragua's Mierisch, and Ethiopia's Gesha Village Coffee Estate. Gesha Village Coffee Estate is completely different from most Ethiopian farms—it's not a small farm but a large 500-hectare estate with its own washing station and laboratory, located in the southwest near the Sudanese border. Most notably, the entire estate only grows Geisha varieties, not the typical Ethiopian native varieties with uncertain varieties. Gesha Village divides the farm into 8 blocks, with 3 main Geisha varieties, all Gehea seeds sourced from nearby forests, not from Panama.

Gesha Village's Grade Classification

Through the estate owner's block division, we can see that the western part of Gesha Village Coffee Estate has higher cultivation altitudes, especially the OMA, SURMA, and SHEWA-JIBABU blocks, with altitudes between 1900-2069 meters, with SHEWA-JIBABU having the highest average altitude. The southern part of the estate has a relatively higher shade ratio, while the northern part receives longer sunlight exposure. Among the estate's eight blocks, Adam selected the most suitable variety for each block based on microclimate differences such as altitude, soil conditions, and shade conditions to ensure each block can develop different flavor characteristics.

FrontStreet Coffee would like to remind everyone that the Geisha grown in Ethiopia's Gesha Village is not the same Geisha variety that became famous in Panama. Gesha Village has 3 Geisha varieties: Gori Gesha, Gesha 1931, and Illubabor Forest. Gori Gesha and Gesha 1931 share the same lineage as Panama Geisha but are still not the same variety. Among them, Gesha 1931 exhibits characteristics very similar to Panama Geisha, while Illubabor is a disease-resistant variety provided by the Ethiopian research institute.

To ensure the quality of Geisha coffee produced by Gesha Village Coffee Estate, Adam established a strict grading system, dividing Geisha into different grades: Auction, Gold Label, Red Label, Green Label, and CHAKA.

Gesha Village Auction

Gesha Village auction batches are the top-tier batches that can only be obtained through buyer bidding. Gesha Village auction Geisha production accounts for only 3.7% of the annual production. These Geisha coffee batches undergo multiple strict screenings.

Gesha Village Gold Label

Gesha Village Gold Label Geisha is a batch frequently purchased by competition participants worldwide and quality-demanding roasters, accounting for about 10% of the estate's annual production and featuring detailed traceability information. The Gold Label batch that FrontStreet Coffee purchased offers complex and rich flavors. During cupping, one can feel the charm of this Geisha coffee batch—whether it's the unique dry aroma or the sipping flavors, mouthfeel, and aftertaste, they all leave a lasting impression.

FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Gesha Village Coffee Estate Gold Label Geisha

Region: Bench Maji, Ethiopia

Estate: Gesha Village Coffee Estate Oma Block

Altitude: 1900-2040 meters

Variety: Gesha 1931

Processing: Natural Process

Flavor: Citrus, Berries, Cream, Caramel, Melon, Honey

Gesha Village Red Label

Gesha Village Red Label also has complete traceability information, accounting for 15% of the annual production, representing premium Geisha coffee with SCA cupping scores of 88 points or above. Although the flavor intensity and complexity don't match the Gold Label and Auction batches, Red Label offers very classic Gesha Village flavors. FrontStreet Coffee believes this is a Geisha batch with excellent value, worthy of purchase by Geisha enthusiasts.

FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Gesha Village Coffee Estate Red Label Geisha

Region: Bench Maji, Ethiopia

Estate: Gesha Village Coffee Estate Shewa-Jibabu Block

Altitude: 1973-2069 meters

Variety: Gori Gesha

Processing: Natural Process

Flavor: Lemon, Plum, Citrus, Tropical Fruits, Floral Tea

Gesha Village Green Label

Gesha Village Green Label batches refer to single-block, single-variety batches. Green Label batches provide complete traceability information for each batch number, including farm block name, coffee variety, and processing date. Compared to Red Label and Gold Label batches, Green Label doesn't have cupping score requirements, making it an entry-level single-block Geisha batch.

FrontStreet Coffee: Ethiopia Gesha Village Coffee Estate Green Label Geisha

Region: Bench Maji, Ethiopia

Estate: Gesha Village Coffee Estate Bangi Block

Altitude: 1911-2001 meters

Variety: Gori Gesha

Processing: Natural Process

Gesha Village CHAKA

Unlike other batches from Gesha Village Coffee Estate, CHAKA mixes all blocks and全年 production seasons of Geisha coffee beans, including all three Geisha varieties grown at Gesha Village: Gesha 1931, Gori Gesha, and Illubabor. This coffee bean is available in both washed and natural processing methods. FrontStreet Coffee purchased the natural process batch.

First, floating separation is used to remove impurities and unripe fruits, then they are spread thin on African raised beds covered with plastic for natural drying. During the drying process, regular turning is required, and manual sorting is performed to remove unevenly colored particles. Total drying time is 18-30 days. To preserve more fruit acidity, FrontStreet Coffee chooses light to medium roast. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee found that Gesha Village's CHAKA presents floral, citrus, berry, cream, oolong tea, and cane sugar flavors.

Green Bean Analysis

The green bean size is smaller than Panama's. Washed Gesha coffee green beans have very beautiful blue-green color, while natural Gesha coffee green beans have a beautiful slightly yellowish-green tone with a jade-like warm texture. They smell of fresh grass, peach, berry notes, and the unique milky-sweet aroma of oolong tea that most coffee beans don't possess. It seems that aroma and flavor require associative thinking, but the light tea note is something we can clearly perceive.

Cupping:

Dry aroma is wine-like, apricot. Wet aroma has sweet orange juice feeling, jasmine flower fragrance, sweet peach, wine aroma, pineapple—bright and rich. Sipping reveals citrus, tropical fruit aroma, ripe fruit fragrance, berry notes, citrus, light fermented wine aroma, clear and bright acidity, smooth texture, grape, maple syrup, wild ginger flower, delicate fruit acidity, clean and balanced mouthfeel, with a lively and lingering fruity-sweet aftertaste.

Brewing Recommendations:

FrontStreet Coffee believes that Geisha coffee, with its rich and diverse fruit flavors, is best suited for pour-over extraction to appreciate the coffee's extracted aroma. Preparation before brewing is very critical. Since these are high-quality coffee beans, to taste the complete aroma of the coffee, FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing freshly roasted coffee beans. Because all coffee has a best flavor period, generally within 7-30 days after roasting, only brewing during this time won't waste these fine coffees. Coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days, ensuring that the coffee beans customers receive after placing orders are the freshest, right at the optimal tasting period.

Geisha coffee's flavor is world-renowned for its rich floral notes and complex fruit tones. FrontStreet Coffee's roasters hope to preserve more of Geisha's fine acidity, so they choose light to medium roast (with slight adjustments for different batches). This roast level doesn't significantly change the high hardness of beans from high altitudes, so brewing requires a higher extraction rate to present fuller flavor layers. This requires using higher water temperature and slightly finer grind size to stimulate more aromatic substances. Additionally, FrontStreet Coffee hopes Geisha coffee's flavor expression will be clearer, so they use a slightly larger coffee-to-water ratio of 1:16.

To increase Geisha coffee's extraction rate, avoid over-extraction, and highlight the sweet and sour flavor layers, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas use V60 drippers. The V60 dripper body has ribs connecting the top and bottom and a large central hole that accelerates water flow, while the spiral-shaped exhaust groove design extends the water flow path, increasing contact time between coffee grounds and hot water. Each water flow converges along the grooves to the filter's center point, concentrating pressure on the coffee grounds and producing coffee with richer layering.

Dripper: V60

Water Temperature: 91-92°C

Coffee Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Fine sugar size (80% passes through #20 sieve)

Three-Stage Extraction: First stage, use 30g of water for bloom for 30 seconds, injecting evenly in circles to form a dome. Second stage, inject 95g of hot water. When the coffee bed drops to half, start the third stage injection of 100g until all coffee drips through. Note to start pouring from the center point, using small water flow with gentle force in circles throughout to avoid uneven extraction.

Hand-pour Gesha Village Red Label Gori Gesha tastes of tropical fruits, bergamot, and citrus tones, with creamy sweetness mixed with fermented notes. As the temperature cools slightly, jasmine flower fragrance gradually emerges.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, ID: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473