Are Horse Coffee Beans and Geisha the Same Variety? What Are the Heirloom Coffee Varieties from Ethiopia?

For seasoned specialty coffee enthusiasts, Horse Champion coffee is certainly no stranger. When Horse Champion coffee first emerged, it could compete with Geisha on equal footing. However, for many newcomers, Horse Champion and Geisha coffee beans can be easily confused. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will teach everyone how to distinguish between Horse Champion coffee beans and Geisha coffee beans.

Why is Horse Champion Coffee Associated with Geisha Coffee?

All of this dates back to 2017. At that time, Geisha coffee had already been world-famous for decades, while the concept of Horse Champion coffee did not yet exist. In the 2017 TOH (Taste of Harvest) green bean competition, a natural processed coffee bean from Hambella, under the DW company, won the championship. This normally wouldn't be particularly noteworthy, as champions emerge every year.

However, the key moment came during the finals of the 2017 World Coffee Brewers Championship China region, where Li Jianfei used this coffee bean to win second place. His competing participants predominantly used Geisha coffee beans. This created a situation where a coffee bean outperformed Geisha—a news story that shocked the entire coffee community. At that time, Geisha coffee was considered the superior variety by default.

Since such a bean comparable to Geisha coffee appeared, it needed a name that could rival Geisha's prestige. The English spelling of Geisha is "gesha/geisha," which sounds similar to the Japanese geisha "芸者/げいしゃ," so Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan regions also call Geisha coffee "Geisha coffee." Among geishas, the most outstanding ones are called "Hanayakko" (花魁), meaning the leader of geishas. This perfectly matched the competition results, so the 2017 TOH natural processed champion bean in China also became known as "Horse Champion coffee bean." The connection between Horse Champion coffee beans and Geisha coffee beans ends there.

Why is Gesha Called "Guixia Coffee" in China?

Around 2006, Mr. Yuan from Kalu Meng Coffee first imported Panama Gesha to China. With its explosive floral and fruity flavors, it still had no Chinese name. Mr. Yuan named Gesha "Guixia" (瑰夏), a translation that embodies faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance, and this name has been used ever since.

Geisha coffee beans originate from the Kaffa forest in Ethiopia. In 1931, a Britishman collected coffee beans from the forest area around Geisha Mountain in southwestern Ethiopia and exported this batch to Kenya in 1932. In 1936, it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania, then to Costa Rica in 1953. Panama introduced the Geisha variety in the 197s when Mr. Francisco Serracin from Don Pachi Estate brought it from CATIE in Costa Rica.

When the Geisha coffee variety was first introduced to Panama, due to its low yield, no one was willing to invest effort in cultivating it. Some were planted in windbreaks to serve as wind protection for other coffee trees. It wasn't until 2003 when the son of Hacienda La Esmeralda's owner faintly detected a captivating floral aroma among a pile of processed coffee beans. Following the trail, he discovered these coffee beans from the windbreak forest. After verification confirmed they were the Geisha variety, they were separated and entered in the 2004 BOP (Best of Panama) green bean competition, winning the championship. Geisha coffee became famous overnight and established Hacienda La Esmeralda's position in the specialty coffee world.

The Development of Horse Champion Coffee Beans

Horse Champion coffee beans are native to the Hambella region of Guji, located in south-central Ethiopia, which is very far from Geisha's place of origin, so geographically they have no necessary connection. In terms of coffee varieties, Geisha itself is a variety name, with pointed ends and elongated shape. Horse Champion coffee beans, however, are a coffee bean name, not a coffee variety. Observing their bean appearance, they consist of various sized coffee beans, truly local native varieties—what Ethiopians themselves cannot distinguish by variety, given a general collective name.

Strictly speaking, only coffee beans produced in 2017 from the Hambella Buku processing station can be called "Horse Champion." In subsequent years, they were named sequentially as Horse Champion X.0 according to the year. For example, 2018's Horse Champion coffee beans were called "Horse Champion 2.0." Until this year, 2024's Horse Champion coffee beans are called "Horse Champion 8.0." Everyone should consider that Horse Champion became famous due to its excellent flavor that year, especially its rich strawberry aroma. The later X.0 versions naturally wouldn't have exactly the same flavor as the original Horse Champion.

So can we still find the flavor of 2017 Horse Champion coffee today? FrontStreet Coffee, in batches from 2018-2019, found flavors very close to the original Horse Champion, though the body and aftertaste didn't match the original 2017 Horse Champion. Surprisingly, FrontStreet Coffee sometimes could still identify from these two batches of green beans the exact same small-bean variety from the original Horse Champion batch. The 2017 Horse Champion coffee beans contained some particularly small-bean varieties, which were the main source of Horse Champion's aroma. Therefore, Horse Champion containing old Horse Champion small-bean varieties is also called "Small-bean Horse Champion." Starting from 2020, the processing station again separately processed the small-bean Horse Champion, selling it alongside the same year's Horse Champion X.0.

FrontStreet Coffee: Horse Champion 8.0 Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Guji, Hambella
Processing Station: Buku Able
Altitude: 2350 meters
Variety: Local native varieties
Processing Method: Natural
Batch: 2024 new batch

FrontStreet Coffee: Small-bean Horse Champion Coffee Beans

Region: Ethiopia, Guji Hambella
Processing Station: Buku Able independent selection of small beans
Altitude: 2350 meters
Variety: Local native varieties
Processing Method: Natural
Batch: 2021 new batch

Comparison of Small-bean Horse Champion and Horse Champion 5.0 Coffee Beans

First, observe the comparison photos of raw and roasted beans between small-bean Horse Champion and Horse Champion 5.0. Both are 2021 new harvest coffee beans, with small-bean Horse Champion coffee beans being significantly smaller than Horse Champion 5.0. The proportion of small-bean varieties is obviously higher than in Horse Champion 5.0.

After receiving Horse Champion 5.0, FrontStreet Coffee roasted it and conducted cupping comparisons with small-bean Horse Champion coffee. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee found that small-bean Horse Champion coffee beans have deeper and richer strawberry aroma as well as berry sweetness, while 2021's Horse Champion 5.0 coffee has more vibrant berry acidity and brighter acidity.

How to Brew Horse Champion for the Best Taste?

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using pour-over method to express this coffee bean, suggesting the use of V60 dripper.

The V60 dripper name comes from its 60-degree conical design. This angle guides water flow to the center, extending contact time between water and coffee. The bottom's large aperture filter hole design allows everyone to control the coffee's flavor extraction time by changing the pour rate. To prevent water from passing through the coffee powder layer too quickly, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using medium-fine grind size (80% pass-through rate on China #20 sieve). To better express the full juice sensation and rich fruit aroma of small-bean Horse Champion coffee beans, water temperature of 91 degrees Celsius is recommended, with three-stage slow circular fine water stream injection.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans for brewing to maximize the experience of coffee's rich flavors. Coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness greatly affects flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that 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 peak flavor.

Use 15g of coffee powder with a powder-to-water ratio of 1:15, meaning we need 15g of coffee powder and inject 225g of hot water for extraction.

First, use 30g of water for blooming for 30 seconds. Using a flow rate of 4g per second and taking 4 seconds per circle, pour from center outward in circles and return to center until reaching 125g, then stop pouring. Wait until the powder bed drops to half its height, then start pouring in the same manner until reaching 225g, then stop. After all coffee liquid from the dripper flows into the lower pot, remove the dripper to finish extraction. Total brewing time is 2 minutes 10 seconds.

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