Geisha Coffee Growing Regions and Flavor Characteristics

Gesha coffee is known as the most expensive coffee in the world. It has gained great fame in the coffee circle. Today, let me briefly introduce the development history, growing regions, flavor characteristics, and grade classification of Gesha.

The Origin and History of Gesha Coffee

The story of Gesha coffee can be traced back to 1936 during the British colonial period in "Abyssinia." Captain Richard Whalley was the consul in the Bench Maji region, and his mission was to collect 10 pounds of coffee seeds from the areas around Gesha Mountain in present-day Ethiopia. How the descendants of these Gesha coffee seeds reached Hacienda La Esmeralda, and how their unique flavor profile was discovered, reflects the complex and sometimes unclear history of the global coffee trade.

Captain Whalley's mission was to collect these seeds as part of a survey of Ethiopian wild coffee varieties ordered by the Director of Agriculture in Kenya. The wild forests of Ethiopia are the birthplace of coffee, and this survey was conducted to evaluate the commercial viability of hundreds of "germplasm" - small regional mutations of major coffee varieties - for cultivation in other British colonies. Even in the 1930s, coffee traders in the market for delicious coffee from the Gessa region had received word.

How the Gesha region, or sometimes recorded as the Gecha region, came to be recorded as "Gesha" is unclear, but reports from the time listed this 10-pound sample collected and hand-processed by Captain Whalley from around Gesha Mountain. This nickname persisted when the seeds subsequently traveled to Tanzania and Costa Rica on their way to Hacienda La Esmeralda. The Gesha coffee seeds were exchanged between gene banks and coffee research stations before reaching CATIE in Costa Rica, where Hacienda La Esmeralda obtained them. At the time, there was little mention of the samples except for their resistance to "Ojo de Gallo."

It was the Gesha coffee's resistance to "ojo de gallo" that eventually brought the seeds to Hacienda La Esmeralda. Since the 1960s, the Peterson family farm and surrounding areas had been growing coffee, but it was harvested and maintained in various ways, with the entire farm planting numerous varieties and germplasm. In the 1990s, as coffee production became increasingly focused, the Petersons acquired a new high-altitude farm, which they named Jaramillo. The farm had recently been devastated by coffee leaf rust, but Daniel Peterson noticed that the Gesha trees were not as severely affected, so they decided to plant more Gesha on the farm, including the higher parts above 1650 meters altitude, higher than any Gesha had been planted before.

Gesha Coffee Grade Classifications

Gesha coffee from Gesha Village also has its own internal Gesha grading: Auction, Gold Label, Red Label, Green Label, and Chaka Batch Gesha.

Auction Batch

These are the most strictly selected top-tier batches from the estate. In 2018 alone, the cupping scores of auction batches ranged from 88.15-92.67 points, and among them, they are further divided into Champion's Reserve and Farm Reserve.

Gold Label Batch

With complete traceability, each batch has outstanding and highly complex flavors, making it the estate's second-best grade after the auction batches.

Red Label Batch

Batches with complete traceability, featuring typical Gesha Village flavors, with slightly less flavor intensity and complexity than Gold Label batches, making them single-origin batches with excellent value for money.

Green Label Batch

Batches from single plots and single varieties, featuring typical Gesha Village flavors, with slightly less flavor intensity and complexity than Red Label batches.

Chaka Batch

A Gesha coffee blend produced by Gesha Village, which includes three varieties: Gori Gesha, Gesha 1931, and Illubabor (Ethiopian native disease-resistant variety).

FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Offerings

FrontStreet Coffee has a Gold Label Gesha, a variety that replicates the genetic diversity of the Gori Gesha forest. With a medium-light roast, it offers flavors of sweet orange, strawberry, honey, and fermented wine aroma.

Similarly, FrontStreet Coffee also offers a Gesha from Colombia, processed using the washed method.

Cupping Notes

Citrus, starfruit, orange, oolong tea, floral notes, honey

Brewing Recommendations

Recommended brewing method: Pour-over

Filter: Hario V60 or Wave filter

Water temperature: 90-92°C

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15-1:16

Grind size: BG 5R (China standard #20 sieve with 58% pass-through rate)

Brewing technique: 30g of water for 30-second bloom, pour to 130g in sections, when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 230g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup. (Timing starts from the bloom) The extraction time is two minutes.

Located in the Dota region of Costa Rica, which is renowned for specializing in micro-batch Gesha production. Especially the Goddess Estate, this region is a typical highland area where volcanic soil with high mineral content provides the perfect growing environment for Gesha. FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha from the Small Candle Estate offers jasmine floral notes, honey, lemon, and berry flavors.

Global Gesha Growing Regions

As we all know, different coffee growing regions produce different flavors. Of course, Gesha growing regions are far more than these mentioned. Other regions include Bolivia, Peru, El Salvador, Mexico, Ecuador, Taiwan, China, and more.