Ethiopia Gesha Village Estate Gold Label Gesha Coffee Bean Variety Characteristics Flavor Profile Description

When it comes to Gesha coffee beans, most people immediately think of Panamanian Gesha. Indeed, Panamanian Gesha coffee, with its rich citrus aroma, abundant and enchanting floral notes, and the sweet fragrance of almonds and nectar, leaves an unforgettable impression after just one taste. But does Gesha coffee originate from Panama? No, Gesha originally comes from Ethiopia. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss Ethiopian Gesha Village Gesha coffee—a Gesha variety with flavor profiles quite different from Panamanian Gesha.

The Gesha coffee variety originates from the remote Gesha Mountain in southern Ethiopia, located near the southwestern border of the Ethiopian Kaffa Forest, close to the Sudan boundary. The altitude ranges from 1,700-2,100 meters. Gesha was born in Ethiopia but became famous elsewhere. Why? FrontStreet Coffee's research reveals: "Gesha is not a high-yield coffee variety; the beans are elongated, the flavor is not outstanding, but it can resist leaf rust disease and can be used as a parent plant for cultivating hybrid varieties." From this perspective, Gesha cultivation in Ethiopia didn't showcase its advantages, while Panama's soil conditions and the harsh planting environment of windbreak forests instead allowed Gesha coffee to fully express the variety's flavor characteristics.

What is Gesha Village Estate?

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 this great land of Ethiopia but also conceived the idea of establishing their own coffee estate and brand. In 2009, they had the fortune to meet the renowned Willem Boot, owner of La Hacienda Esmeralda and BOP judge. Willem Boot's idea of "returning to Ethiopia to find Gesha's birthplace" provided the couple with an opportunity.

In 2011, they returned to Bench-Maji, where several areas were called Gesha Village—the most likely region to find native Gesha varieties. Adam followed Willem Boot on expeditions into the surrounding forests and, in a jungle wrapped in dense forest (known as Gori Gesha Forest), discovered multiple wild coffee tree species. Among them, the most exciting find was precisely the native Gesha variety. They collected seeds from the native Gesha trees, screened them, and then planted them in Gesha Village. They decided to establish the estate here, naming it Gesha Village Coffee Estate, located about 12 miles from Gori Gesha Forest and covering 475 hectares.

Gesha Village Coffee Estate differs from most Ethiopian small farms—it's a large farm of nearly 500 hectares with its own washing station, laboratory, and other facilities. Gesha Village had its first harvest in 2015, and due to enthusiastic responses from all parties, with the assistance of Panamanian La Hacienda Esmeralda owner Willem Boot, they held their first international auction on May 31, 2017. Gesha Village offered 21 micro-lots, with 19 lots of 120 kilograms each and several lots even smaller.

Gesha Village Gesha coffee is widely loved, and many competitors have selected batches from this estate to participate in competitions and win honors. Notably, Hong Kong's Chiu Ka Po used Gesha Village Gesha coffee to win third place in the 2017 World Barista Championship. In the same year, Japan's Ishiya Takayuki also chose Gesha Village coffee to win his first Japan Barista Championship (JBC) title in his ten-year competition journey.

Gesha Village Grading System

Gesha Village Estate has a strict internal grading system, consisting of Auction, Gold, Red, Green, and Chaka lots.

Auction

Auction lots account for only 3.7% of Gesha Village's annual production, representing the estate's top-tier batches selected through strict screening processes. These can only be obtained through global auctions.

Gold Label - RARITIES

Gold label coffees account for about 10% of Gesha Village's annual production, featuring complex flavors and being very rare. These rare coffees represent the highest quality at Gesha Village besides auction lots. Many baristas choose gold label batches for competition use, while roasters with high quality standards also purchase them. They offer complete traceability, with each batch having outstanding and complex flavors.

Red Label - RESERVE

Red label coffee beans account for about 15% of Gesha Village's annual production. These are batches with complete traceability, cupping scores exceeding 88 points (SCA standard), and possessing typical Gesha Village flavors. The flavor intensity and complexity are slightly weaker than gold label batches, making them very cost-effective single-origin batches.

Green Label - SINGLE-TERROIR

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

Chaka CHAKA

Chaka batches mix coffee from all plots of the estate throughout the entire production season. Chaka batch coffees are processed using both natural and washed methods, containing three coffee varieties from Gesha Village: Gesha 1931, Gori Gesha, and Illubabor.

Gesha Village Coffee Bean Processing Methods

FrontStreet Coffee's Gold Label, Red Label, and CHAKA are all naturally processed.

The natural process steps are actually quite simple: First, remove floating debris and impurities, then spread them in thin layers on African raised beds, covered with plastic sheets for sun drying. During drying on African beds, additional screening is performed to select out insect-damaged beans and underripe green coffee beans. Total drying time is 18-30 days.

FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Red Label coffee beans have always been loved by fans, but some people have reported difficulty brewing them well, feeling that something is lacking. This time, FrontStreet Coffee will share how to brew Gesha Village Red Label coffee. Before brewing, it's essential to understand the coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Estate Red Label Gesha comes from an estate in Ethiopia's Bench Maji zone, and this red label batch comes from the estate's Shewa-Jibabu plot, located in the northwest of the estate, where coffee trees are planted at altitudes between 1,973 and 2,069 meters.

This Gesha Village Red Label Gesha belongs to this year's new harvest season coffee beans, so FrontStreet Coffee's roaster extended the dehydration time when roasting this coffee to ensure even heating between the bean surface and core. To express the acidity and floral-fruit aromas of this coffee bean, a light roast was adopted, with an Agtron color value of 77.1 for the bean surface and 81 after grinding.

After FrontStreet Coffee received and roasted the new harvest season Gesha Village Red Label coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas re-cupped this bean.

Through cupping, it was discovered that this Gesha Village Red Label Natural Gesha coffee exhibits distinct yellow stone fruit flavors, white floral aromas, and a slight tea sensation mixed with an obvious creamy aftertaste. Its advantage is the ultra-high sweetness from the refined natural processing, which persists throughout. The high sweetness in the front section prevents the acidity from becoming fruit-acidic, resulting in a gentle acidity, while the creaminess in the finish is more pronounced. However, its drawback is the lack of body thickness, becoming somewhat bland as it cools.

Adjusting Brewing Parameters

Only after understanding a coffee bean can we adjust brewing parameters according to its characteristics. Through cupping, we know that this Gesha Village Red Label's advantage is its high sweetness, but it lacks body thickness. Therefore, the goal when brewing this coffee bean is to highlight the coffee's sweetness while enhancing overall body thickness. To increase body thickness, we can choose a finer grind to increase coffee concentration and extraction rate.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Parameters

Dripper: V60 #01

Water Temperature: 91°C

Coffee Amount: 15 grams

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee uses a staged extraction method: bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, then continue pouring in small circles to 125g for segmentation. When the water level drops to just above the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops to just above the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from bloom) Total extraction time is 1'55". Through this brewing method, the target coffee concentration is around 1.32%, with an extraction rate of about 18.13%. This concentration is relatively high within the Gold Cup Standard range, while the extraction rate barely meets the standard, using high concentration to enhance the overall body thickness of the coffee.

Using this brewing method, the Gesha Village Red Label Gesha coffee presents citrus acidity at high temperatures without losing body thickness. As the temperature slightly decreases, the acidity becomes gentler, with flavors leaning toward yellow stone fruit, creamy sweetness, slight floral notes, and a subtle dark cocoa aftertaste. At low temperatures, it reveals maple and berry notes.

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