Ethiopian Coffee Beans | Introduction to Bench Maji Zone Gesha Village Gold Label Coffee Beans

Ethiopia: The Sacred Land of Coffee

For coffee enthusiasts, Ethiopia is a sacred destination. This country is the birthplace of coffee and currently serves as Africa's largest producer of Arabica coffee. It also houses the world's largest coffee gene bank, boasting numerous coffee varieties, including the renowned Geisha variety, which originates from its primeval forests.

While coffee aficionados are likely familiar with the story of Geisha's origins and knowledgeable about Panama's famous estates, many people have only heard of "Gesha Village" and its location in a place called Bench Maji when it comes to Ethiopian Geisha coffee, but possess limited knowledge of other specific details. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will guide you through this growing region to discover what makes Ethiopian Geisha truly special.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia is located in northeastern Africa, bordering Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, and Eritrea. The country is dominated by mountainous plateaus, mostly belonging to the Ethiopian Plateau, with the central and western regions forming the main plateau, accounting for two-thirds of the country. The Great Rift Valley runs through the entire territory, with mountains averaging nearly 3,000 meters in elevation.

Due to the high altitude, the climate here is pleasant, with an average annual temperature of 16°C. The plateau features a tropical savanna climate, while the mountainous regions have a highland mountain climate, and the eastern and northern lowlands experience a tropical desert climate. The year is roughly divided into dry and rainy seasons, with annual rainfall of 1,237 millimeters. The country is rich in water resources, with numerous lakes and rivers within its borders, earning it the reputation of "East Africa's Water Tower." With nearly 50 volcanoes, abundant water resources, diverse climates, and high-altitude mountainous areas, it is an ideal region for coffee cultivation.

In Ethiopia, coffee growing regions can be roughly divided into three main parts: eastern, southern, and western. FrontStreet Coffee's research reveals that the eastern region, centered around Harar, primarily exports coffee to Middle Eastern countries. The southern region includes many of Ethiopia's specialty representatives, such as Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, and Guji, making it widely recognized as the main producer of high-quality coffee domestically. The western region mainly covers the relatively lower-altitude areas of Jimma, Limmu, and Kaffa and Bench Maji, which are characterized by forest cultivation methods.

Bench Maji

Administratively, Bench Maji is a zone belonging to the Southwest Ethiopia Region, situated in the western border of the country, near South Sudan. This area is named after the largest ethnic group here—the Bench people, who are known for their advanced agricultural techniques, with the most representative being their cultivation of local staple crops such as Teff.

The Bench Maji growing region, also known as the Bebeka region (because Bebeka is the capital of Bench Maji Zone), is located in southwestern Ethiopia, as a zone under the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, just a few kilometers from South Sudan. Here lies the renowned Gesha Village Coffee Estate, where the Geisha variety trees of Gesha Village were found in the wild forests of Bench Maji.

Unlike the central and southern regions famous for specialty coffee, the western highlands consist of vast primeval forests. Bench Maji was initially protected more for its biodiversity as a forest, with few people cultivating coffee here in earlier years. However, in recent years, with the growing fame of Gesha Village and Bench Maji, an increasing number of farmers have begun to switch to coffee cultivation.

Compared to other western growing regions, Bench Maji borders Kaffa, the birthplace of coffee, and its most significant feature is the extremely high forest coverage rate. Coffee production in Bench Maji is supervised by farmers who, out of respect for the natural ecosystem, implement measures to minimize intervention in this forest, such as occasionally removing old coffee trees or plants with poor growth conditions, and replacing them with new seedlings grown in the same wild forest.

As the region where Geisha originated, Bench Maji also has its own coffee farmers' cooperative union—the Bench Maji Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union, which is a large coffee production organization composed of 65 cooperatives, serving 130,000 small-scale farmers. Here, coffee trees are typically intercropped with other crops between the tall plants of the original forest. To ensure more stable economic income, farmers sometimes also plant spices such as ginger. This semi-forest cultivation model allows the coffee trees to maintain good growth conditions through the shade and natural soil and water conservation of the original forest, without requiring additional pesticides and fertilizers, thereby achieving mutual promotion between ecological environment and economic benefits.

Gesha Village Coffee Estate

Gesha Village Coffee Estate is located in the Bench Maji growing region, spanning 471 hectares. It was founded by documentary filmmaker Adam Overton and his photographer wife Rachel Samuel. In 2007, while filming a documentary about coffee for the Ethiopian government, this couple discovered the Gori Gesha Forest in the Bench Maji area and began to consider establishing their own coffee estate. Later, in 2009, they met Willem, the owner of Panama's Don Pachi Estate, and returned to Ethiopia together to search for Geisha. They came to a place in Bench Maji called Gesha Village, discovered what was most likely the original Geisha area, found wild Geisha, collected seeds from the original Geisha trees, and after screening, planted them in Gesha Village. They decided to establish the estate here and named it Gesha Village Coffee Estate.

Cultivated Varieties and Plots

Currently, Gesha Village Coffee Estate cultivates three coffee varieties: Gesha 1931, Gori Gesha, and Illubabor Forest 1974. The estate is divided into 8 plots, with each plot growing only one variety. Among them, the Oma, Surma, and Narsha plots grow Gesha 1931; the Bangi, Shewa-Jibabu, and Shaya plots grow Gori Gesha; and finally, the Gaylee and Dimma plots grow Illubabor. Coffee cherries harvested from each block are labeled to indicate their origin, and through an internal tracking system, their entire process from the factory to export is monitored.

Gesha 1931: The Geisha variety was first found in Ethiopia's coffee forests in 1931. Due to its resistance to leaf rust disease, it traveled through multiple countries before eventually becoming famous in Panama.

Compared to Panama's Geisha, the Gesha 1931 here is confirmed by observing plant morphology, bean shape and size, as well as cupping results. It is the closest to the mother plant of Panama's Geisha. Through cupping comparisons at FrontStreet Coffee, it was found that the new harvest's Gesha Village Gold Label coffee beans exhibit intense berry aroma, full-bodied cantaloupe, citrus-like bright acidity, chamomile-like floral notes, and tea-like aftertaste.

Gori Gesha: In 2011, after the establishment of Gesha Village, the estate owners discovered a native Geisha variety in the Gori forest, 12 miles away from the estate, hence the name Gori Gesha.

Illubabor Forest 1974: Discovered during a 1974 expedition in the Illubabor forest, it was later developed by the Ethiopian Research Center into a variety with resistance properties. Currently, it is only cultivated at Gesha Village.

Gesha Village Grading

The coffee classification at Gesha Village Coffee Estate draws inspiration from the business models of some Panamanian estates and differs from traditional Ethiopian grading. Currently, Gesha Village is divided into five categories: Auction Lots, Gold Label, Red Label, Green Label, and Chaka.

Champion's Reserve/Farm Reserve: This category accounts for only 3.7% of Gesha Village's annual production and represents the most carefully selected top-tier lots from the estate. The auction lots are further divided into Champion's Reserve and Farm Reserve, currently only available through global auctions at Gesha Village Coffee Estate.

Rarities (Gold Label): This category represents the highest quality among non-auction lots at Gesha Village. Gold Label accounts for only 10% of the entire estate's production, making it the most expensive Gesha Village product outside of auctions. FrontStreet Coffee's new harvest Gold Label Geisha coffee beans this year come from the Oma plot, processed using a 32-day natural drying method, with the variety being the exclusive Gesha 1931 from the Oma plot.

Growers Reserve (Red Label): Red Label accounts for 15% of Gesha Village Coffee Estate's production. Coffee beans in this category must score above 88 points on SCA cupping.

Single-Terroir (Green Label): Green Label has no cupping score requirements but can be traced back to information about plot, variety, processing method, and time.

Chaka: Chaka is a category that mixes all plots and varieties from the entire estate, without emphasizing subdivision.

FrontStreet Coffee: Ethiopia Gesha Village Gold Label Coffee Beans

Region: Bench Maji Growing Region
Estate/Processing Station: Gesha Village Coffee Estate
Altitude: 1931-2040 meters
Variety: Gesha 1931
Processing Method: Natural
Flavor: Citrus, Berries, Chamomile, Cantaloupe, Tea-like Sensation

Below, FrontStreet Coffee demonstrates the brewing steps for Gesha Village Gold Label as served in our stores. You can refer to this and compare it with your own brewing approach.

Pour-over Recommendations for Gesha Village Gold Label Coffee:

Dripper: V60
Water Temperature: 91-92°C
Coffee Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar consistency (80% passing through #20 sieve)

Three-stage extraction: First, pour 15g of coffee grounds into the dripper and reset the weight. For the first stage, pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom while starting the timer. Use a small water stream to pour from the center point outward in a circular motion, ensuring the entire coffee bed is moistened.

For the second stage, use a slightly larger water stream to pour 120g of water, aiming to raise the entire coffee bed. The water stream needs to be poured vertically and evenly. At this point, the scale should show 150g, and the pour should be completed at approximately 55 seconds.

When the liquid level drops to about halfway, begin the third stage by pouring 90g of water using a small stream in small circular motions. Try to control the water stream to avoid making the circles too large, which could disperse the coffee grounds and cause under-extraction. The final pour amount should total 240g, with the drip filtration completing in approximately 2 minutes and 10 seconds. After removing the dripper, shake the coffee in the sharing pot evenly before tasting.

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