What Grade is Gesha Village Gold Label Gesha? Flavor Characteristics of Ethiopian Gold Label Gesha Coffee Beans

Regular readers of FrontStreet Coffee's articles may have noticed that most coffees from Ethiopia are produced by cooperatives, with很少出现庄园级别的咖啡豆. However, within Ethiopia's Kaffa Forest lies an estate known as Gesha Village, which follows the business model of Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda, grading and selling its Geisha coffee beans by classification. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will briefly introduce the Gesha Village coffee grading system and explore the Gold Label Geisha coffee beans from Gesha Village.

What Makes Gesha Village Estate Special?

Unlike most Ethiopian farms, Gesha Village is not a small farm but a vast 500-hectare estate with its own washing station and laboratory. The entire farm is dedicated to cultivating only the Geisha variety, rather than the typical Ethiopian heirloom varieties where specific cultivars cannot be determined. In 2007, documentary filmmaker Adam Overton and his photographer wife Rachel Samuel, while shooting a documentary about Ethiopian coffee for the Ethiopian government, encountered the Gera coffee forest located in the Bench Maji region.

In 2009, they had the fortune to meet the renowned骡子庄园主、BOP评委Willem Boot, whose ideas provided the Overton couple with an opportunity: return to Ethiopia in search of Geisha's birthplace. Finally, Adam Overton decided to establish Gesha Village Estate in the Gera coffee forest they had encountered. Willem Boot also brought Panama's business model to Gesha Village, creating the current grading system for Geisha coffee on the estate.

Geisha Coffee Grading System at Gesha Village

Auction Lots

Accounting for only 3.7% of Gesha Village's annual production, these are the most exceptional batches from the estate, meticulously selected through rigorous screening. They can only be obtained through the 2018 Gesha Village Estate Global Auction. The cupping scores for the 2018 auction lots ranged from 88.15 to 92.67 points, further divided into Champion's Reserve and Farm Reserve categories. For example, Gesha Village 2018 Auction Lot RSV.6 belongs to this category.

Gold Label

The Gold Label accounts for only 5% of Gesha Village's annual production and can be considered equivalent to the Auction Lots in quality. These are typically chosen by competition participants worldwide—for instance, during the 2018 WBC World Championship held in the Netherlands, the Australian and Japanese champions selected Gold Label batches for their competitions. Roasters with high standards for quality also procure these batches, which offer complete traceability and feature outstanding, complex flavors, making them the estate's second-best grade after the Auction Lots. FrontStreet Coffee's Gold Label Gesha comes from the Oma 059 batch.

Red Label

Batches with complete traceability, featuring typical Gesha Village flavors. The flavor intensity and complexity are slightly lower than the Gold Label, making these single-origin batches highly cost-effective.

Green Label

Officially known as SINGLE-TERROIR, these coffee beans come from single farms within Gesha Village. Complete traceability information can be found for each batch number in the Single-Terroir series, including farm name, coffee variety, and processing date.

Chaka Batch

This is a Geisha coffee blend produced by Gesha Village, comprising three varieties: Gori Gesha, Gesha 1931, and Illubabor (an Ethiopian native disease-resistant variety).

Geisha Varieties at Gesha Village

Gori Gesha (GG)

This variety replicates the genetic diversity found within the Gori Gesha coffee forest.

Gesha 1931 (G31)

Combining various forest varieties, this is very similar to Panama Geisha, selected through observation of plant morphology, bean appearance, screen size, and cupping quality.

Illubabor Forest 1974 (IF)

Discovered during a 1974 expedition to the Illubabor forest, this variety was later developed by the Ethiopian Research Center into a disease-resistant cultivar.

FrontStreet Coffee's Gold Label Gesha coffee beans come from the Oma 114 batch, using the Gesha 1931 variety. So how does FrontStreet Coffee roast and brew this particular coffee bean?

FrontStreet Coffee Gesha Village 114 Batch Gold Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Grade: Rarities (Gold) Label
Processing Method: Natural (32 days)
Variety: Gesha 1931
Country: Ethiopia
Region: Bench Maji
Altitude: 1,931-2,040 meters

Natural Processing Method

FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village coffee undergoes natural processing. First, floaters and impurities are removed, then the coffee is dried in thin layers on African raised beds, covered with plastic sheets. During drying on the beds, additional sorting is performed to remove insect-damaged beans and green-colored coffee beans. The total drying time is 18-30 days. FrontStreet Coffee believes that naturally processed coffee exhibits pronounced sweetness, gentle acidity, and produces complex fruity flavor notes.

FrontStreet Coffee's Roasting Experience for Gold Label Geisha

Yangjia 800N, 300g batch size: Start at 160°C with 100 heat and airflow at 3; return to temperature at 1'40", when the drum temperature reaches 142°C, open airflow to 4 and increase heat to 150; at 148.1°C, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aromas completely disappear, entering the dehydration stage, reduce heat to 120; at 7'20", the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack—at this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound, which begins at 8'25", open airflow to 5, develop for 1'45" after first crack, and drop at 197.5°C.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Experience

Dripper: V60 #01
Dose: 15g
Ratio: 1:15
Grind: Medium-fine (78% retention on #20 sieve)
Water Temperature: 91°C

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans for brewing to fully experience the rich flavors of coffee. The coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee freshness greatly affects flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer receives the freshest coffee when their order arrives. The coffee's resting period is around 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at its peak flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Method: First, wet the filter paper and preheat the dripper and coffee pot. Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour with a small circular motion to 125g before pausing. When the water level drops to just above the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g, then stop pouring. When the water level drops to just above the coffee bed again, remove the dripper (timing starts from the beginning of the bloom). Total extraction time is 1'55". Shake well before tasting.

Brewing Flavors: Citrus, cream, fermented notes, tea-like sensation, juice-like mouthfeel, plum, high cleanliness.

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