How to Distinguish Gesha Village's Auction, Gold Label, Red Label, Green Label, and Chaka Batch Gesha Coffee Beans?

Discovering Geisha Village: A Complete Guide to Ethiopian Geisha Coffee

In the homeland of coffee, Ethiopia, there exists a Geisha Village where numerous Geisha coffee varieties are cultivated. However, the flavor profile of these coffees differs from Panama Geisha, each possessing its own distinctive characteristics. Similar to Panama Geisha, Ethiopian Geisha Village coffee maintains very strict grading standards, dividing their coffee into Competition, Gold Label, Red Label, Green Label, and Chaka batches. Now, let's follow FrontStreet Coffee's footsteps to explore the Geisha Village Geisha coffee in detail.

Understanding Geisha Village Coffee Grade Classifications

FrontStreet Coffee will first provide a detailed explanation of the Geisha Village coffee grade classifications. In terms of products, they are divided into Competition batches, Gold Label batches, Red Label batches, Green Label batches, and Chaka batches. (Of course, these "color labels" are Chinese common names derived from promotional background colors.)

The Competition batch from Geisha Village consists of carefully selected coffee beans through multiple layers of screening, representing the top-tier batches from the Geisha Village Estate. This accounts for only 3.7% of Geisha Village's Geisha coffee production and can only be obtained through global bidding.

The Gold Label, officially named "Rarities," should be translated as "rare treasures" - representing the highest quality non-competition batches from Geisha Village. This series accounts for only 10% of the entire estate's production. FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping tests on the Gold Label batches annually. In previous cupping sessions, the Gold Label's performance wasn't particularly outstanding, with its flavor profile at best comparable to premium Yirgacheffe coffee. However, this year's Gold Label batch has proven exceptional.

During cupping, FrontStreet Coffee detected flavor characteristics reminiscent of Panama Geisha - featuring notes of citrus, jasmine floral aroma, honey, and tea-like qualities. Those familiar with Geisha should know that Panama's Geisha variety and Geisha Village's Geisha variety are not the same cultivar, so this performance demonstrates the considerable efforts made by Geisha Village.

The Geisha Village Red Label, officially named "Growers Reserve," translates to "Growers Reserve Area." It accounts for 15% of the estate's total production and scores above 88 points in SCA cupping. The Red Label batch possesses typical Geisha Village flavor characteristics, with slightly less intensity and complexity than the Gold Label batch, making it a single-origin batch with excellent value for money.

The Geisha Village Green Label, officially named "Single-Terroir," translates to "Single Terroir." This series provides detailed traceability information, allowing tracking back to specific single plots, coffee varieties, processing details, and timing. Truly single-origin coffee in the truest sense.

The Chaka batch emphasizes low purchase barriers - it's a blend of all plots and coffee varieties from the entire estate, without emphasizing subdivision. It can be said to represent the baseline quality standard of the Geisha Village Estate.

Cupping Analysis of Geisha Village Coffee Batches

FrontStreet Coffee conducted cupping tests on these Ethiopian coffees, measuring 11.3 grams of coffee beans each, grinding them into powder, smelling the dry aroma, then pouring 94°C hot water. Within four minutes, the wet aroma could be assessed, after which the tasting phase began using cupping spoons.

For the Geisha Village Gold Label Geisha, FrontStreet Coffee detected intense fruit aromas during the dry fragrance phase of cupping. After pouring hot water, the wet aroma phase revealed rich floral and berry fragrances. When FrontStreet Coffee actually tasted this Gold Label Geisha, the entry showed distinct citrus and creamy notes. The acidity wasn't as bright as Yirgacheffe; instead, the Gold Label Geisha coffee's acidity was relatively gentle, with more pronounced sweetness. The sweetness of caramel and cream was continuous, finishing with fermented-like aftertaste notes.

During cupping, FrontStreet Coffee found that this Geisha Village Red Label batch, specifically the Gorri Geisha, displayed notes of tropical fruits, bergamot, and lemon, with creamy sweetness and hints of fermentation. As the temperature slightly cooled, jasmine floral aromas gradually emerged, followed by flavors reminiscent of toffee and almonds.

The Geisha Village Green Label Geisha, during FrontStreet Coffee's cupping, presented distinct berry sweet aromas, with full-bodied, rich mouthfeel featuring flavors of cherry, raspberry, and honey, with a fermented fragrance in the aftertaste.

Brewing Methods and Flavor Profiles

After cupping, FrontStreet Coffee brewed these coffees using pour-over methods to experience the complete coffee flavor profile. Considering that FrontStreet Coffee roasts these coffees with higher moisture content in the beans, to extend dehydration time, FrontStreet Coffee ultimately adopted medium-light roasting. The Geisha Village Geisha coffees sold by FrontStreet Coffee are all processed using natural methods. Typically, floating debris and impurities are first removed, then the coffee is dried in thin layers covered with plastic sheets on African raised beds. During drying on raised beds, additional sorting is performed to remove insect-damaged beans and underripe green coffee beans. Total drying time ranges from 18-30 days. FrontStreet Coffee believes that naturally processed coffee has pronounced sweetness, gentle acidity, and produces complex fruit flavor profiles, so FrontStreet Coffee ultimately determined the roast level for Geisha Village Geisha coffee as medium-light to highlight the distinctive floral aromas and fruit sweetness brought by natural processing.

When brewing these Geisha Village Geisha coffees, FrontStreet Coffee used the same pour-over method, with a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, water temperature of 90°C, and consistent grind size for brewing these Ethiopian coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee typically first wets the filter paper and preheats the dripper and coffee pot before formal brewing. The first stage uses 30g of water for blooming. After 30 seconds, the second pour begins, using a small water stream in circular motions until reaching 125g, then stopping. When the water level drops to just before exposing the coffee bed, the third stage begins, continuing circular pouring until reaching 225g, then stopping. When the water level drops to just before exposing the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from blooming) Total extraction time is exactly 2 minutes. This pour-over method is generally called the three-stage pour-over method, which is FrontStreet Coffee's most commonly used brewing method.

At this point, these Geisha Village Geisha coffees are ready to be tasted.

Through comparison, FrontStreet Coffee discovered that the Gold Label batch carries the distinctive rich jasmine floral aroma of Ethiopian coffee beans, with a mouthfeel somewhat like citrus juice, featuring fruit notes reminiscent of peaches and sweet melons, with honey sweetness in the finish.

The Red Label batch offers a very balanced overall mouthfeel. The biggest difference from the Gold Label Geisha is that the Red Label Geisha's nutty flavors are more prominent.

The Green Label batch carries some acidity, somewhat similar to the berry acidity of Kenyan coffees, with a very full-bodied, rich mouthfeel, honey sweetness in the aftertaste, and hints of fermented wine-like aromas.

The Chaka batch has relatively light fermentation aromas, with an overall mouthfeel featuring citrus and grapefruit acidity notes that are rather gentle. Of course, this is FrontStreet Coffee's relatively objective flavor description - coffee flavor descriptions can vary from person to person.

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