Who Are Ethiopia's Coffee Giants? What's the Difference Between Geisha, Yirgacheffe, and Guji?

Ethiopia is not only the birthplace of Arabica but also a vast natural genetic treasure trove. Ethiopia has cultivated countless delicious coffees, and because they are reasonably priced, it has become the preferred coffee producing region for most coffee enthusiasts.

Among Ethiopian coffees, three varieties have gained such prominence that they are collectively known as the "Three Giants of Ethiopian Coffee." They are: Gesha, Yirgacheffe, and Buku.

Even newcomers to coffee will become familiar with these three giants through the word-of-mouth teachings of experienced "masters." However, when it comes to understanding the unique characteristics of each and the differences between them, many may find it difficult to articulate, as most friends haven't yet delved deeply into them. So today, FrontStreet Coffee will share with everyone: Yirgacheffe, Gesha, and Buku - what unique characteristics do these "Three Giants of Ethiopian Coffee" each possess!

Yirgacheffe

If you ask about the most representative coffees of Ethiopia, Yirgacheffe will certainly be among the answers. Yirgacheffe is not the name of a coffee variety but rather the name of a coffee-producing region. Before the concept of specialty coffee became popular, coffees were typically named after their place of origin. Therefore, coffee beans produced in Yirgacheffe can all be called: Yirgacheffe coffee.

From the map, we can see that the Yirgacheffe producing region is located on the eastern edge of the East African Rift Valley. This area enjoys cool, foggy weather year-round with spring-like seasons, and an average altitude of 1,700-2,100 meters, making it one of the highest altitude coffee-producing regions in Ethiopia. Before 1995, the name Yirgacheffe referred only to a small town located in the Sidamo administrative region. However, Yirgacheffe's excellent topographical environment and unique cultivation system provided ideal growing conditions for coffee beans, allowing coffee grown in Yirgacheffe to absorb more nutrients during growth and develop more outstanding flavors. Gradually, people discovered that the coffee flavor from the Yirgacheffe region differed from other Sidamo coffees. After the province-to-federation system reform and several adjustments to the ECX (Ethiopia Commodity Exchange) coffee classification table, Yirgacheffe became independent from the Sidamo region, establishing its own identity. The flavor that distinguishes Yirgacheffe from other regions has come to be known as: "Yirgacheffe flavor."

"Rich jasmine fragrance, fresh lemon acidity, and clean green tea aftertaste" - this is what people refer to as "Yirgacheffe flavor." If you want to experience this deliciousness, washed process beans from the Yirgacheffe region are definitely the best choice. Part of the reason for Yirgacheffe coffee's fame is that it was one of the first regions to adopt washed processing. The washed process doesn't allow coffee beans to undergo excessive fermentation, allowing the inherent flavor of Yirgacheffe coffee beans to be fully expressed, resulting in an overall cleaner cup. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's frequently shared FrontStreet Coffee washed Gedeb is a representative selected by FrontStreet Coffee to emphasize the regional flavor of Yirgacheffe.

We'll stop here with the story of Yirgacheffe for now, and FrontStreet Coffee will share more in a new article later. Next, FrontStreet Coffee wants to share about the coffee that has been popular since 2004 - Gesha.

Gesha

Regarding Gesha, FrontStreet Coffee believes everyone is already quite familiar with it. "Gesha" is the name of a coffee variety. Since Hacienda La Esmeralda used it to shine at the BOP in 2004, outshining all others, Gesha has become the "new hegemon" of the coffee world. "Rich citrus acidity, elegant white floral notes, and complex, changing fruit aromas" are the sensations Gesha brought to people when it first revealed its fragrance, and this has become what people refer to as - "Gesha flavor." But don't be fooled by Gesha's current glory; the road to its fame was not simple.

Although Gesha became famous in Panama in 2004, it was actually discovered over 70 years earlier. Through sample comparisons, people traced Gesha back to its Ethiopian origins. In the 1930s, because leaf rust disease caused serious damage to the coffee industry, people needed to find disease-resistant coffee varieties to develop improved varieties to combat disaster erosion. As a natural genetic treasure trove, Ethiopia was naturally the best treasure-hunting ground, so the British traveled to Ethiopia to collect coffee varieties, trying to find coffee varieties with disease-resistant genes.

The team at that time went to the Gesha area southwest of the Kaffa Forest to collect coffee varieties, naming this batch of beans after the local name. The beans then traveled through Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and other places for research, and were later cataloged by CATIE in Costa Rica as fungal-resistant varieties. "Geisha T2722" is the code for the Gesha variety that eventually reached Panama and was brought to prominence.

So we can know that, in a broad sense, the Gesha people refer to is the "Geisha T2722" from Panama. This variety has slender, elongated, oval-shaped beans with pointed ends and a full center. The Gesha listed among the Three Giants of Ethiopian Coffee, however, does not refer to this! From the above, we can learn that the naming of the Gesha variety comes from the local Gesha area in Ethiopia - the name of its collection site. This means that coffee beans from that area can all use this naming method and can be called "Gesha." So later, when the Gesha wave became hugely popular, many "Gesha" varieties appeared in Ethiopia. They are not T2722, but rather native varieties from the Gesha mountain area, just sharing the same naming convention. Among them, the most famous are Gorie Gesha and Gesha 1931 from the Gesha Village Estate.

After 2004, many people who were amazed by Panamanian Gesha traveled to Gesha's birthplace - the Kaffa Forest, hoping to find the same Gesha variety locally. Among them was Adam, the current owner of Gesha Village Estate. Under the guidance of Willem Boot, owner of Finca Sophia, Adam went to the place where Gesha was originally discovered to select varieties. Due to the lack of genetic comparison technology at that time, they could only identify similar beans by referring to the plant appearance, bean shape, and flavor profile of Panamanian Gesha. Eventually, they found Gorie Gesha and Gesha 1931. Currently, FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Red Label uses the Gorie Gesha variety, and its appearance is somewhat different from Panamanian Gesha. The natural process of this variety brings out more of the Ethiopian region's terroir characteristics when brewed, with bright and full juicy notes, displaying citrus, pineapple, and mango flavors.

Meanwhile, FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Gold Label uses the Gesha 1931 variety! Compared to FrontStreet Coffee's Gesha Village Red Label, its appearance and flavor profile are closer to Panamanian Gesha: delicate chamomile floral notes, sweet and sour berries, citrus, and melon, with a more obvious tea-like aftertaste.

Buku

The last of the Three Giants is Buku! In terms of Ethiopian bean recognition, Buku's reputation might be even higher than the previous two. Because Buku introduced "version numbers" (i.e., 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...), everyone eagerly anticipates what surprises the new FrontStreet Coffee Buku will bring each year. Last year's FrontStreet Coffee Buku reached version 8.0, meaning Buku has been known to the world for eight years.

Buku is neither a coffee bean variety name nor a producing region name in Ethiopia; it is a commercial name. In early 2017, a natural process coffee bean from Guji won the COE championship that year. This bean was then imported by domestic green bean merchants, who combined the Chinese context to give it the name "Buku," meaning "first among hundreds of flowers." The Buku coffee bean variety is a native variety from the Guji region, but because this name collided with the Taiwanese translation of Gesha ("geisha" translated as "geisha," which refers to a Japanese profession, while Buku was the top-tier among geisha), many people developed the misconception that "Buku is Gesha." In reality, the two are completely different concepts. The earliest Buku amazed everyone with its rich strawberry cream aroma, and the latest FrontStreet Coffee Buku 8.0 still retains this major characteristic. Besides strawberry and cream aromas, FrontStreet Coffee Buku 8.0 also reveals high-sweetness flavors like guava, citrus, and melon, as well as distinct rose notes, with a sweet and rich fragrance.

What are the differences between the Three Giants of Ethiopia?

In summary, we can know that the characteristics and differences of the "Three Giants" are very clear. From their respective producing regions, the meanings represented by their names, to their individual flavor characteristics, they are completely different. Finally, FrontStreet Coffee's question is: among these three giants, which one is your favorite?

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