Do You Know What Geisha Is? Introduction to Chacarero Estate Geisha Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to the Geisha Coffee Variety

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

The Geisha variety was first discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia and was later sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya. In 1936, it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania, and in 1953, Costa Rica began cultivating it.

For a long time, not many people paid attention to Geisha. It wasn't until one day when Don Pachi first brought Geisha from the small town of GESHA in southwestern Ethiopia to Costa Rica, that Geisha then traveled along the southern route into Panama. Panama's Esmeralda Estate separated it from other varieties and won the national coffee competition championship, which officially brought Geisha into the spotlight.

As early as 1904, during the initial construction of the Panama Canal, large numbers of European engineers and senior managers were hired to work in the hot eastern Panama City. After the Panama Canal was completed in 1917, these highly educated professionals, especially those from Northern Europe, fell in love with Panama's Boquete. With its cool climate and spring-like weather year-round, many stayed here, bought farms, retired here, and enjoyed the living environment surrounded by misty clouds.

Currently, the most famous Geisha growing region is in Boquete, Panama, a small town located on the eastern foothills of the Baru Volcano. In the Boquete region, the most renowned Geisha coffee growing estates include the famous Hacienda La Esmeralda, Elida Estate, and Panama's NPGE Estate.

In 2007, documentary director Adam Overton and his photographer wife Rachel Samuel, while filming a documentary about Ethiopian coffee for the Ethiopian government, came into contact with the Gera coffee forest in the Bench-Maji region. During this process, they not only rediscovered this great land of Ethiopia but also conceived the idea of establishing their own coffee estate and brand.

In 2009, they had the fortune to meet the famous owner of the Don Pachi Estate and BOP judge Willem Boot. Willem Boot's ideas provided an opportunity for the Overton couple: return to Ethiopia and find the birthplace of Geisha.

Finally, they arrived in Bench-Maji, an area in southwestern Ethiopia near South Sudan, where many places are called Gesha Village, making it the most likely area to find the original Geisha. When they arrived in 2011, there was nothing on the estate.

Adam followed Willem Boot on an "adventure" in the forests surrounding the estate. In a jungle magically enveloped by dense forest, they discovered various wild tree species, with the most exciting find being wild Geisha. They later learned that this was the Gori Gesha forest, the place where the Geisha variety was first discovered. So they collected seeds from the original Geisha trees, screened them, and then planted them in Gesha Village. They decided to establish the estate here and named it Gesha Village Coffee Estate, a 475-hectare coffee farm located about 12 miles from the Gori Gesha forest.

Gesha Village covers a total area of 475 hectares. Starting from 2011, they gradually expanded the planting area. By 2017, the planted area reached approximately 320 hectares.

Later, Willem Boot came to Gesha Village as their technical advisor. They discovered samples in an original forest near the estate, known by locals as Gori Gesha, that were very similar to the original Geisha species being cultivated at the Don Pachi Estate.

Both the Overton couple and Willem Boot believed they had found the origin of Geisha, and subsequent breeding and cultivation work gradually confirmed this hypothesis.

At the 2017 Japan Barista Championship, Takayuki Ishitani used beans from Gesha Village to win the championship, not to mention the excellent performance of Gesha Village's green beans on various auction cupping tables.

There are two main processing methods for Gesha Village's commercial green bean production:

At the same time, Gesha Village is also experimenting with various processing methods, including dry fermentation, wet fermentation, and various honey processing methods. Among many coffees, floral aroma and intense sweetness of tropical fruits are consistent characteristics of Geisha.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473