Complex fruity flavour of lemon, apple and mandarin; Jasmine, Damascus rose aroma; turn to berry with honey sweetness when getting cool. A clean cup sweet coffee.
Found by Adam Overton and Rachel Samuel in 2011, Gesha Village Coffee Estate is probably the most talked-about story on Gesha variety. Many big roasters in Hong Kong like UCR, Sensory Zero, Craft, H&H, etc. feature their coffee from time to time.
Rachel won’t spell the word wrong not just because she was born in Ethiopia, their mission is all about finding the original gesha variety when they first started the project after talking to Willem Boot. Willem keeps mentioning Rachel’s story when I’m studying SCA Roasting in his campus in San Rafael, California. It’s always so fascinating about this story of root searching, especially from Willem, who is passionated about this variety.
During the search, they found 2 varieties. One is now called Gesha 1931, a variety which closely resembles Panamanian Geisha. The other one is Gori Gesha which a heirloom variety that replicated the genetic diversity within the Gori Gesha Forest. They start from seeds harvested in the forest, selected and planted in this new cultivated farm land in the far western reaches of Ethiopia, mere kilometers from the South Sudanese border. From the founders’ own words, “Developing Gesha Village has been a humble story of revival, community, and innovation. We know this is truly just the beginning, though, and we’re excited to continue sharing this journey with the specialty-coffee community.“
The Estate is divided into several sub-farm, each growing mainly just one variety for clear lot separation. This lot is coming from Surma sub-farm which is growing gesha 1931. More information about the Estate can be found in their official website.
- Origin: Ethiopia
- Region: Bench Maji
- Estate: Gesha Village Coffee Estate
- Producer: Adam Overton & Rachel Samuel
- Sub-farm: Surma
- Lot: 46
- Altitude: 1909-2063m
- Cultivar: Gesha 1931
- Processing: Washed