How to Brew Ethiopia Geisha Village Geisha Coffee for the Best Taste?

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When mentioning Gesha coffee, many people's first reaction might be Panama Gesha with its rich white floral aromas, enticing juice-like qualities, and honey sweetness. Those familiar with the history of the Gesha coffee variety all know that the commonly recognized Gesha coffee variety today was discovered in the Gesha forest of Ethiopia in the 1930s. After several transitions, it was sent to the Central American Agricultural Institute (CATIE) in Costa Rica during the 1950s and 60s as sample T2722. It was distributed to Panama for cultivation in the 1970s and gained fame in 2004 after winning the Best of Panama (BOP) competition and breaking green coffee auction price records.

Although modern scientific instruments have concluded that there is little genetic relationship between Panama's Gesha variety and Ethiopia's Gesha variety, we shouldn't give up on tasting and comparing the differences between them. After all, experiencing diversity is very important.

As a top-tier estate that has brought Ethiopia back to the forefront of world-class coffee, Gesha Village has always been a premium specialty coffee that FrontStreet Coffee cannot miss. With absolute recognition, the owner's passion and dedication to coffee guarantee consistent quality. The Gesha Village Estate cultivates Gesha varieties, the origin of Panama's finest Gesha varieties. Excellent growing conditions and post-processing methods make Gesha Village's coffee highly priced yet eagerly sought after.

Whether natural or washed processed, both exhibit elegant floral and fruit aromas with a smooth, rounded mouthfeel. FrontStreet Coffee seeks coffee beans with unique characteristics and background stories, and this coffee from Gesha Village Estate meets our requirements. Today, we're sharing the cost-effective Red Label from Gesha Village.

Gesha Village

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

In 2009, they had the privilege of meeting the renowned La Mula estate owner and BOP judge Willem Boot. Willem Boot's ideas provided the Overton couple with an opportunity: return to Ethiopia to find Gesha's birthplace. Finally, they arrived in Bench-Maji, the region in southwestern Ethiopia near South Sudan, where many places are called Gesha Village and is the most likely area to find original Gesha. When they arrived in 2011, there was nothing on the estate.

Adam followed Willem Boot on an "adventure" in the forests surrounding the estate. In a jungle magically enveloped by dense forest, they discovered multiple wild tree species, with wild Gesha being their most exciting find. They later learned that this was the Gori Gesha forest, the place where Gesha was first discovered. So they collected seeds from the original Gesha trees, screened them, and then planted them in Gesha Village. They decided to establish the estate here and named it Geisha Village Coffee Estate—a 475-hectare coffee farm located about 12 miles from the Gori Gesha forest.

Geisha 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 Sudan border, its most special feature is that the entire farm only grows Gesha varieties, not the typical Ethiopian heirloom varieties whose exact origins cannot be determined. Gesha Village divides the farm into 8 zones, with 3 main Gesha varieties, all Gesha seeds collected from nearby forests.

Construction of the farm began in October 2011, with the first harvest in 2015. Due to enthusiastic responses from all parties, with the assistance of Panama coffee estate owner Willem Boot, they offered 21 micro-lots in their first international auction held on May 31, 2017—19 lots of 120kg each, with several smaller batches. Bidders from Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia responded with unexpected enthusiasm, with the final winning bid reaching $85 USD per pound, breaking all previous African coffee auction records!

Gesha Village Coffee Varieties

Gesha Village has three varieties, named after the expedition teams that discovered the coffee: Gesha1931, Gori Gesha, and Illubabor (provided by the Ethiopian Coffee Research Center).

Gesha1931 was confirmed through observation of plant morphology, bean shape and size, and cupping—it is the closest to the mother plant of Panama Gesha. The Gori Gesha variety was collected by the Gesha Village estate owner in 2011 through their own expedition from the Gori Gesha wild coffee forest, located 20 kilometers from the current Gesha Village farm, and no duplicate samples have been found elsewhere.

Gesha Village Red Label Gesha

Gesha Village's coffee grades include: Auction, Gold Label, Red Label, Green Label, and CHAKA. Among these, the Red Label grade consists of batches with complete traceability, requiring scores above 88 in the SCA evaluation system and possessing typical Ethiopian Gesha Village flavor characteristics. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee found that Gesha Village Red Label has the classic Gesha characteristics of complex fruits, honey, and floral notes, with the added bright acidity typical of African coffees, though overall flavor intensity and complexity are slightly weaker than Gold Label batches. At FrontStreet Coffee stores, you can taste this grade of Gesha flavor for just 30 RMB, making it an extremely cost-effective single-origin batch.

FrontStreet Coffee: Gesha Village Estate Red Label Coffee Beans

Region: Bench-Maji, Ethiopia

Estate: Gesha Village Estate

Altitude: 1909m - 2069m

Variety: Gori Gesha

Processing: Estate Fine Natural Processing

FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village coffee uses natural processing. First, floaters and impurities are removed, then the beans are dried in thin layers on African raised beds covered with plastic sheets. During drying on African beds, additional screening is performed to remove insect-damaged beans and green-colored coffee beans. Total drying time is 18-30 days. FrontStreet Coffee believes that naturally processed coffee has noticeable sweetness, soft acidity, and produces complex fruit flavor profiles.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

Since this batch is from the 2020 new harvest season with high moisture content, the dehydration time will be extended during roasting. The final roast degree is determined to be medium-light to highlight fruit sweetness.

Yangjia 800N, 500g batch size: 175°C drum temperature, 130 flame power, damper setting 3; Return to temperature at 1'36", when drum temperature reaches 92.8°C, at 3 minutes open damper to 4, increase flame to 140; When drum temperature reaches 152.6°C (6'26"), bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering dehydration stage, reduce flame to 100; At 8'20", bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack—at this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. At 9'55", first crack begins, open damper to 5, develop for 1'30" after first crack, discharge at 193.5°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

Brewing Parameters

Dose: 15 grams

Ratio: 1:15

Grind: Fine pour-over grind (78% pass-through rate on #20 standard sieve)

Temperature: 90°C

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method

First, rinse the filter paper and preheat the dripper and coffee server. Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour in small circles to 125g for分段 (stage brewing). When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring in circles to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper (timing starts from bloom). Total extraction time is exactly 2 minutes.

FrontStreet Coffee Gesha Village Red Label Gesha Coffee Bean Pour-over Flavor Description:

Citrus, cream, fermented notes, tea-like sensation, juice-like mouthfeel, plum, high cleanliness.

Important Notice :

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