What is Ethiopia Geisha Village Gold and Green Label? What are the Flavor Characteristics of Geisha Village Geisha Coffee?

The FrontStreet Coffee Gold Label and Red Label Gesha Village coffees on our menu are part of a grading system that Ethiopia's Gesha Village Coffee Estate uses to classify different Gesha lots by plot, altitude, and variety. The estate owner set out to guarantee that buyers receive the highest quality beans through strict cupping standards and careful selection of each season's lots.

Gesha Village Estate sits in the Gesha forest of Ethiopia's Bench Maji zone, covering 475 hectares. For better management the estate is divided into eight plots, primarily cultivating three main Ethiopian Gesha varieties. Although they lie in the same region, the eight plots show distinctly different flavors because of differences in variety and altitude.

Gesha Village Coffee Varieties

Gori Gesha: an indigenous variety originating from the Gori Gesha forest, covering 139 hectares, or 43.7% of the estate's total area.

Gesha 1931: the variety most similar to Panamanian Gesha in plant morphology, bean shape, and cupping performance, covering 118.8 hectares, or 37.3% of the estate's total area.

IIIubabor: an indigenous disease-resistant variety from Ethiopia, provided by the Ethiopian Research Center and originating from coffee forest samples in Ethiopia's IIIubabor region, covering 63.5 hectares, or 20% of the estate's total area.

Gesha Village Coffee Grades

Coffee from Gesha Village Estate is classified into five grades: AUCTION, RARITIES (Gold Label), GROWERS RESERVE (Red Label), SINGLE-TERROIR (Green Label), and CHAKA lots.

AUCTION

Auction lots represent only 3.7% of Gesha Village's annual production. These are the estate's most premium lots, selected through rigorous screening, and can only be obtained through the global Gesha Village Coffee Estate auction.

In 2018, cupping scores for the annual auction lots ranged from 88.15 to 92.67 points, further divided into Champion's Reserve and Farm Reserve categories.

RARITIES Gold Label

Gold Label lots represent only 5% of Gesha Village's annual production. They are typically chosen by competition participants worldwide and bought by roasters with high quality standards. They offer complete traceability, with each lot showing prominent flavors and high complexity, making them the estate's second-best grade after auction lots.

FrontStreet Coffee currently sells Gesha Village Gold Label coffee from the Oma plot. This plot lies on the southern side of Gesha Village Estate, at altitudes ranging from 1931 to 2040 meters, and is responsible for cultivating the Gesha 1931 variety across a total area of 67.6 hectares.

GROWERS RESERVE Red Label

Red Label lots, originally named GROWERS RESERVE, translate to "Grower's Reserve Area." They represent 15% of the estate's total production and score above 88 points in SCA cupping.

SINGLE-TERROIR Green Label

Green Label lots, originally named SINGLE-TERROIR, translate to "Single Terroir." This series provides detailed traceability, allowing the coffee to be traced to specific plots, varieties, processing information, and timing, making it truly single-origin in the purest sense.

CHAKA

Gesha Village's CHAKA lots emphasize accessibility. They blend all plots and varieties from the entire estate, without emphasizing subdivisions, and can be said to represent the baseline quality level of Gesha Village Estate.

FrontStreet Coffee Gesha Village Gold Label Coffee Bean Processing

FrontStreet Coffee's new season Gold Label Gesha beans come from the Oma plot and are processed using natural drying lasting 30 days.

After estate workers harvest the cherries, they first remove floating debris and impurities, then dry the fruit in thin layers on African raised beds covered with plastic sheets. During drying, additional screening removes insect-damaged and underripe green beans. Total drying time is 30 days. FrontStreet Coffee believes that naturally processed coffee shows noticeable sweetness, gentle acidity, and complex fruit-toned flavors.

Flavor Characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee Gesha Village Gold Label Coffee Beans

Observant drinkers may notice that although the Gold Label beans belong to the Gesha variety, they are essentially indigenous varieties from the Ethiopian region. Despite being most similar to Panamanian Gesha in plant morphology, bean shape, and cupping performance, they have not undergone human "domestication" as Panamanian Gesha has, over many years, to develop its current rich floral aromas and fruit acidity. Ethiopian Gesha 1931 and the Gesha varieties of Central and South America are therefore two different varieties.

Even so, the performance of FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Gold Label beans is genuinely impressive. Through cupping comparisons at FrontStreet Coffee, the new season Oma plot natural-processed Gold Label Gesha Village coffee shows an intense berry aroma, a full cantaloupe body, citrus-like fresh acidity, chamomile-like floral notes, and a tea-like aftertaste.

How to Brew FrontStreet Coffee Gesha Village Gold Label Coffee Beans

To fully appreciate the charm of FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Gold Label beans, the most important thing is to start with freshly roasted coffee. All beans sold in FrontStreet Coffee's online stores ship within five days of roasting, ensuring 100% fresh roasted coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's brewing parameters: grind size, medium-fine (78% pass-through rate on a #20 standard sieve); water temperature, 91°C; coffee dose, 15g; brew ratio, 1:15.

Blooming technique: use twice the coffee weight in water, that is, 30g of water for 30 seconds. Blooming is necessary to let the grounds release internal carbon dioxide, which makes the subsequent extraction more stable. Pour in a small circular stream to 125g, then continue to 225g and stop. Remove the dripper once all the water has dripped through. Time from the start of pouring: 2'10". Then pick up the server, swirl it well, and pour into cups for tasting.

Brewing flavor of FrontStreet Coffee Gesha Village Gold Label Coffee Beans: a berry-like sweet aroma, a full and rich mouthfeel with hints of chamomile and raspberry, and an aftertaste of cantaloupe and tea.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

FrontStreet Gesha Village Gold Label belongs to the Gesha 1931 variety and is the estate's top coffee outside the auction lots, often chosen by competition baristas on the international stage. FrontStreet's Gold Label lot is processed with a refined natural method, giving a complex, layered cup whose dry aroma, slurped flavors, mouthfeel, and finish all linger impressively.

FrontStreet Gesha Village Red Label belongs to the Gori Gesha variety and accounts for 15% of production, scoring 88 points or above on the SCA 100-point scale. As a single-terroir series, each lot carries complete traceability, including farm block name, coffee variety, and processing date.

For those who want to taste what all the attention is about, FrontStreet Boquete Geisha is the entry-level choice, a Panamanian Geisha that delivers the classic citrus-and-honey charm of high-quality Panama Geisha at an accessible price, with an oolong-tea sensation, delicate fruit acidity, and clear layering.

Geisha is a medium-light roasted, floral-and-fruity, fairly dense bean that can sink and clog the drain hole during brewing. FrontStreet Coffee therefore recommends a grind of 78% pass-through on a China-standard #20 sieve (about fine sugar size), brewed at 91°C. For pour-over, use 15g of grounds with a Hario V60 (small size) and a 1:16 ratio. Begin timing and pour to 30g for a 30-second bloom, then pour in a small circular stream to 125g. When the water in the bed drops to half, continue a small circular pour to 225g. Once fully drawn down, total extraction time is about 2:10 to 2:20.