Best Ethiopian Coffee Brands Recommended Introduction to Gesha Village Coffee Grading System

FrontStreet Coffee - Introducing Gesha Village Coffee

Gesha Village lies in the Bench Maji region of southern Ethiopia, near the Sudan border, in the high-altitude, humid forests where the East African Rift Valley enters southern Sudan. It is the birthplace of Arabica coffee and home to a great deal of outstanding genetic diversity. Here one variety has drawn particular attention: Geisha.

In the Bench Maji region, Adam and Rachel found 471 hectares of land—a relatively remote, untouched high-altitude forest area, further west than Ethiopia's better-known coffee regions. While growing coffee they preserved the wild forest and maintained biodiversity, a crucial part of Ethiopian-style coffee cultivation, and the vast forest provides ample shade for the delicate Geisha trees.

When planning the Gesha Village estate, the project team collected seeds from local wild coffee trees in the forest and selected those genetically closest to the original Geisha discovered in 1931. Thus "Gesha 1931" was named. This lot of Gesha 1931 grows in the Oma plot of Gesha Village at an altitude of 2040 meters, making it the most aromatic coffee on the estate. After harvest, the beans undergo extremely meticulous natural processing, using raised African beds and covering them with arched plastic at night so air can flow through each bean for better drying.

Because it grows in local wild forest and receives such meticulous processing, "Gesha 1931" carries strong wild flavors: clear jasmine aromas, then peach-dominated stone fruit, accompanied by fresh, round citrus acidity.

Auction Batches

Accounting for only 3.7% of Gesha Village's annual production, these are the most rigorously selected top-tier lots from the estate, available only through the 2018 Gesha Village Global Auction. The 2018 auction lots scored between 88.15 and 92.67 points in cupping and are further divided into Champion's Reserve and Farm Reserve.

Gold Label Batches

Accounting for only 5% of Gesha Village's annual production, these are the lots typically chosen by competition participants worldwide, and by roasters with the highest quality requirements. They have complete traceability, and each lot shows prominent flavors and high complexity, making them the estate's second-best grade after the auction lots.

Red Label Batches

These lots have complete traceability and typical Gesha Village flavors, with slightly less intensity and complexity than the Gold Label. They are single-origin lots with excellent value for money.

Green Label Batches

These lots come from single plots and are single-variety, showing typical Gesha Village flavors with slightly less intensity and complexity than the Red Label.

Chaka Batches

Gesha Village's Gesha blend, which combines three varieties: Gori Gesha, Gesha 1931, and Illubabor, an Ethiopian native disease-resistant variety.

Worth knowing: Leveraging its unique advantages, Gesha Village's primary processing method is natural processing.

FrontStreet Coffee Philosophy

In short, FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research hall, happy to share knowledge about coffee with everyone. We share without reservation, hoping to help more friends fall in love with coffee, and we are always glad to help you explore the world's finest estates.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste Gesha Village at its best, FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Gold Label is the estate's second-highest grade. It is the Gesha 1931 variety, meticulously natural-processed on raised beds, and shows clear jasmine, peach-led stone fruit, and fresh citrus acidity with high complexity.

For a value option, FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Red Label is the Gori Gesha variety, a single-terroir lot scoring 88 points or above on the SCA 100-point scale, with complete traceability—each lot lists the farm block, variety, and processing date. It delivers typical Gesha Village character for a more accessible price.

Brew either as pour-over at a 1:16 ratio and 91°C to keep the florals bright and defined.