Ethiopian Gesha Village Estate Brand - CHAKA Sun-Dried Gesha: What Does It Taste Like?

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What is Chaka Coffee?

Chaka is a limited edition specialty brand under Gesha Village in Ethiopia. In 2011, Gesha Village established a nursery in Bench Maji, the gateway to Ethiopia's native Gesha forest, just 20 kilometers away. There, they carefully nurtured seedlings, transplanted and cultivated them while following best agronomic practices. They also began selecting better-tasting varieties, reducing the original six varieties to three: Gori Gesha, Gesha 1931, and Illubabor.

Chaka grows from the original varieties found in the Gori Gesha forest. This quality-focused approach allows the trees at Gesha Village Estate to realize their inherent potential, producing coffee with astonishing flavors.

Gesha Village Estate Ethiopia

Before meeting Willem Boot, Adam Overton had a vague dream of purchasing a farm in Ethiopia to grow the world's most delicious coffee variety: Geisha.

Why Ethiopia? Because Ethiopia is said to be the birthplace of Geisha. In the last century, Geisha seeds were brought from the depths of local pristine forests, eventually making their way to Panama. It wasn't until the early 2000s that Geisha became a coffee variety that amazed the world. Additionally, his wife Rachel Samuel is Ethiopian.

The Journey Begins

Adam had absolutely no coffee growing experience. His profession was documentary filmmaking, and Rachel was a professional photographer. In 2007, they were commissioned to Ethiopia to shoot a coffee documentary. From then on, they fell in love with coffee and became determined to buy a coffee plantation.

In 2009, they met Willem Boot. Three years earlier, Willem Boot had purchased La Mula in Panama to grow Geisha. To learn from his experience, the couple flew from Ethiopia's capital to Panama's coffee region to visit La Mula and learn from Willem Boot. Since Geisha appeared in Best of Panama and became a hot local variety in the early 2000s, Willem Boot had hoped to find the origin of Geisha in Ethiopia's vast pristine forests. He had organized multiple exploration teams, and although the results were not ideal, he never gave up.

Finding the Perfect Location

Learning from Willem Boot was a major turning point for Adam and Rachel's dream, strengthening their determination to establish their own Geisha estate. Since they lived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, they initially looked for nearby locations with better access to labor and transportation. However, to meet the conditions for growing Geisha—considering altitude, microclimate, and all other factors—they found themselves looking further and further away, finally reaching Ethiopia's most remote southwestern region, bordering Sudan.

This region is Bench Maji, at least a two-day drive from Addis Ababa. Nearby are several villages called "Gesha," which are considered the most likely birthplace of Geisha. Bench Maji was isolated from the world, with few outsiders entering until roads were built a few years ago. The local Meanit indigenous people have their own language.

The Unique Environment of Bench Maji

Compared to other western producing regions, Bench Maji is adjacent to Kaffa, the birthplace of coffee. Its greatest characteristic is extremely high forest coverage. Coffee production in Bench Maji is supervised by farmers who, out of respect for the natural ecosystem, take measures to minimize intervention in these forests, such as occasionally removing old coffee trees or poorly growing plants and replacing them with new seedlings from the same wild forest.

Establishing Gesha Village Estate

Accompanied by locals, Adam and Rachel climbed high into the mountains. As soon as they saw that place, they immediately fell in love with the land—extremely high altitude of 1900 to 2100 meters, abundant rainfall, suitable temperature patterns, and rich, undeveloped pristine forest soil. They found themselves in a coffee-growing ecosystem that had existed for a long time, with ancient coffee trees. After three years of searching, they finally found their footing on this dreamland. They gave it a simple name: "Gesha Village Coffee Estate."

In October 2011, construction on the farm began. Willem Boot served as their consultant and flew to the estate. What he saw was less a thriving farm and more like camping on grassland. To guard against attacking lions, watchtowers were built in the farm to provide early warnings. To explore the forest, AK-47 rifles were needed to defend against fierce wild animals, and they were accompanied by indigenous people carrying spears.

Discovering Wild Gesha

However, almost simultaneously, there was a breakthrough in finding suitable Gesha varieties for planting. Willem Boot and Adam discovered wild Gesha in a pristine forest not far from the estate that was very similar in form to Panamanian Geisha—both the coffee cherries and branch growth patterns were comparable. The growing environment was deeply shaded by trees, with thousands of coffee shrubs growing densely, and coffee flowers blooming profusely. The air was filled with an unbelievably strong white fragrance. Willem Boot recalled feeling as if he was "in heaven"!

The forest they discovered was called the Gori Gesha wild coffee forest, just 20 kilometers from the estate. Adam believed this forest was the same source from which the famous Panamanian Geisha was collected in 1930. Willem Boot also believed these trees were very similar to the Geisha he planted at La Mula, with Gesha beans having both green and bronze tips. In February 2012, Willem Boot returned to the estate again, and the estate's Gesha varieties were finally determined.

Building the Estate Infrastructure

Soon after, Adam and Rachel established their own washed processing station and laboratory near the forest. The estate only grows Geisha varieties. After referencing the standardized planting methods of some Geisha estates in Panama, they numbered and recorded different planting plots in detail for later organization and flavor tracing.

What's the Relationship Between Gesha Village Gesha and Panamanian Geisha?

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, the native coffee varieties in Gesha Village are also called Gesha, but they can actually only be considered "wild Gesha," different from the Panamanian Geisha we're familiar with. The two words differ by just one letter "i," which is also a detail intentionally used for distinction.

The difference between the two Gesha varieties is that Gesha grown in Central and South America traces back to "geisha T2722," cataloged by Costa Rica's CATIE as a fungal-resistant variety. After years of artificial cultivation and adaptation to climate and growing environments, it has developed various stable characteristics. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee observed that "geisha T2722" coffee beans from Panama are generally larger, with a unique shape that is long, plump, and bulging in the middle. When brewed, they often exhibit delicate fruit acidity and charming floral notes depending on the terroir.

Ethiopian Gesha, on the other hand, is an untamed native variety. Its raw bean characteristics and flavor profile are closer to Ethiopian native varieties (Heirloom). When brewed, it typically presents citrus acidity and almond flavors, with a distinct tea-like quality. Additionally, as FrontStreet Coffee mentioned at the beginning, Gesha Village grows three different varieties: Gori Gesha, Gesha 1931, and Illubabor Forest.

The Three Varieties of Gesha Village

For the first two varieties, most people are relatively familiar with them. Gesha 1931 was selected by the estate owner from many varieties in the forest. They used Panamanian Geisha as a prototype, selecting varieties based on plant morphology, bean shape, particle size, and cupping flavor. Gori Gesha, on the other hand, is the Gesha variety harvested by the team when they explored the Gori Gesha forest in 2011, hence its name.

Regarding the last variety at Gesha Village, Illubabor was discovered and selected in the Illubabor forest in 1974 and is also a unique Ethiopian coffee variety. FrontStreet Coffee found through Gesha Village's official website that as a naturally disease-resistant variety, Illubabor is mainly planted in two plots on the estate: DIMMA (altitude approximately 1966-2019 meters) and GAYLEE (altitude 1916-1982 meters).

FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Chaka Processing Methods

Gesha Village's Chaka coffee beans come in two versions: one natural processed and one washed processed. FrontStreet Coffee conducted a comparative cupping of both processing methods. Compared to natural processing, washed coffee has higher acidity and better clarity, but its complexity and layering are not as good as natural processing. The natural processed Chaka coffee has stronger berry aromas and complex fruit sweetness.

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee ultimately chose the natural processed Chaka for retail. Although washed Chaka has the distinct flavor characteristics of Ethiopian producing region coffee, natural processed Chaka has a fuller, richer mouthfeel that creates a stronger impression and is more suitable for various daily extraction methods such as pour-over and cold brew, often yielding excellent flavor results.

Gesha Village Estate · FrontStreet Coffee's Chaka

Region: Ethiopia · Bench Maji
Estate: Gesha Village Estate
Altitude: 1900-2100m
Processing: Natural Process
Varieties: Gori Gesha, Gesha 1931, Illubabor

How to Brew FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Chaka for Best Taste?

To preserve the unique bright acidity of Ethiopian coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee used medium-light roast. Coffee beans from high-altitude regions have inherently denser structures, and due to shorter roasting time, the coffee bean structure hasn't changed significantly, making the substances in coffee less extractable. Therefore, when brewing medium-light roast coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using medium-fine grind/coarse sugar granularity (Chinese No. 20 standard sieve, 80% pass rate).

Use 15g of coffee grounds, then pair with a V60 dripper, 90-91°C water temperature, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, and a three-pour technique for brewing.

Bloom with twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds, that is, 30g of water for 30 seconds. The blooming process is needed to allow the coffee grounds to release internal carbon dioxide, making subsequent extraction more stable. Pour in a small circular stream to 125g, then continue pouring to 225g and stop. Remove the dripper once the water has finished dripping. Time from the start of pouring, with an extraction time of 2'10". Next, pick up the entire cup of coffee, shake it well, then pour into a cup for tasting.

Flavor Profile of FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Natural Chaka Coffee Beans

Lemon-like fresh acidity, berry juice-like sweet and full body, honey cream-like smoothness, and a finish with oolong tea-like sweetness.

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