What Makes the Gesha Coffee Bean from Gesha Village Distinct?
Gesha Village Coffee Estate sits in the Bench Maji region of western Ethiopia, surrounded by primeval forest. The estate splits its land into eight blocks planted with varieties such as Gori Gesha, Illubabor and Gesha 1931, and grades lots in five tiers: Auction, Gold, Red, Green and Chaka. Gold marks the highest cupping quality.
Owners Adam and Rachel met Willem Boot in 2009, whose idea of returning to Ethiopia to find the birthplace of Gesha led them back to Bench Maji in 2011. A sun-dried Gold selection from the Oma block shows how plot, variety and grade shape gesha green coffee, with brewing and cupping tailored to its profile.
Located in the Bench Maji region of Ethiopia, Gesha Village Coffee Estate has risen to fame in the specialty coffee scene in recent years, with its various grades of Gesha beans repeatedly appearing on the stage of world-class coffee competitions. The estate divides its growing areas into eight blocks, each planted with varieties such as Gori Gesha, Illubabor, and Gesha 1931, and establishes a five-tier system based on cupping quality: Auction, Gold, Red, Green, and Chaka. This article will guide you through the geographical environment of Gesha Village, the varieties and flavor characteristics of each block, explain the definition and value of the Gold batches, and use Front Street Coffee's this-season sun-dried Gold selection from the Oma block as an example to share the background of the Gesha 1931 variety, brewing parameters, and cupping performance.
Ethiopia's Gesha Village Coffee Estate has been an unavoidable topic in the specialty coffee world in recent years. The estate's different grades of Gesha coffee beans are often chosen by competitors in world-class coffee competitions as their competition beans, bringing Ethiopia, this ancient coffee country, back into the spotlight.
Ethiopia Gesha Village
Gesha Village Coffee Estate is located in the Bench Maji region of western Ethiopia, surrounded by dense primeval jungle. The estate enjoys beautiful scenery and a comfortable climate, and from high vantage points, one can gaze upon the ancient and vast forest.
In 2007, estate owners Adam and Rachel were commissioned to travel to Ethiopia to film a coffee documentary. As filming progressed, the couple's contact with the land and local people deepened, and the idea of owning their own estate began to take root. Everything reached a crucial turning point after meeting Willem Boot—from estate site selection and variety screening to processing methods, all closely tied to Willem Boot.
In 2009, the couple had the fortune to meet the renowned Mule Estate owner and BOP judge Willem Boot. His idea of "returning to Ethiopia to find the birthplace of Gesha" brought new opportunities for the two.
In 2011, they returned to Bench Maji. Several local areas are called Gesha Village and are the zones most likely to contain native Gesha varieties, so led by locals, they walked into the forest that is the native homeland of Gesha. Gesha Village Coffee Estate covers a total area of about 471 hectares, of which coffee planting area is about 320 hectares. The soil is brown-red loam, and planting density is maintained at 7,000 coffee trees per hectare.
These coffee trees are planted at elevations above 1,900 meters. The high altitude slows the growth of the coffee trees, allowing the fruit more time to accumulate nutrients. Gesha Village is further divided into 8 blocks, each planted with a single variety, so at Gesha Village, a single-block lot also means a single variety.
Gesha Village Block Divisions
Bangi
The Bangi block is located on the eastern side of Gesha Village Coffee Estate, at an elevation of 1,911 to 2,001 meters, mainly planted with the Gori Gesha variety, with a planting area of about 54 hectares. The Gesha produced from this block often carries aromas of honeysuckle and spices, with rich black chocolate and spice notes interwoven with red fruit, black tea, and blackcurrant flavors.
Dimma
The Dimma block is in the central zone of Gesha Village Coffee Estate, at an elevation of 1,966 to 2,019 meters, planted with the Illubabor variety, covering 28.7 hectares. Coffee from this block often presents coffee flower aromatics and stone fruit flavors, mixed with fresh citrus notes.
Gaylee
The Gaylee block is located on the southeast side of Gesha Village Coffee Estate, planted with the same Illubabor variety as the Dimma block, at an elevation of 1,916 to 1,982 meters. The official cupping description notes fruit and spice flavors, accompanied by lemongrass and jasmine notes.
Oma
The Oma block is located on the southern side of Gesha Village Coffee Estate, at an elevation of 1,931 to 2,040 meters, planted with the Gesha 1931 variety, covering a total area of 67.6 hectares. Coffee from the Oma block has intense jasmine aromatics, along with subtle flavors of peach, apricot, candied fruit, melon, and mandarin, fused with honey-like sweetness.
Narsha
The Narsha block leans toward the eastern side of Gesha Village Coffee Estate, adjacent to the western side of the Gaylee block, with a planting area of only 5.3 hectares, planted with the Gesha 1931 variety. The official description lists flavors including honeysuckle, yellow fruits, lime, black chocolate, white peach, apricot, and rose, with clean acidity and a bergamot finish.
Surma
The Surma block is located on the southwest side of Gesha Village Coffee Estate, at an elevation of 1,909 to 2,063 meters, with a planting area of 45.9 hectares, planted with the Gesha 1931 variety. Coffee from this block has aromas of jasmine and rose, with flavors reminiscent of strawberry, watermelon, apple, and delicate spices.
Jibabu
The Shewa-Jibabu block is located on the northwest side of Gesha Village Coffee Estate, at an elevation of 1,973 to 2,069 meters, with a planting area of 48.5 hectares, planted with the Gori Gesha variety. The Gesha from this block often carries flavors of spices, strawberry, ripe peach, papaya, floral notes, black chocolate, orange, and bergamot.
Shaya
The Shaya block is located on the northern side of Gesha Village Coffee Estate, with a planting area of 36.5 hectares, producing Gori Gesha. The official description notes that the Gesha coffee from this block has subtle aromas of jasmine, bergamot, and orange, along with rich notes of black chocolate, cherry, molasses, lemon, berries, and apple.
Gesha Village Grading System
At Gesha Village, every step of cultivation and processing strives for uncompromising quality. The estate has a coffee laboratory in Addis Ababa and, following official SCA standards, carefully selects each lot through a strict cupping process, then rigorously grades them to ensure the highest quality coffee beans are delivered to buyers.
Since its founding, Gesha Village Coffee Estate has attracted constant attention. The coffee within the estate is divided into several grades: AUCTION, RARITIES Gold, GROWERS RESERVE Red, SINGLE-TERROIR Green, and CHAKA.
Definition of Gesha Village Gold Grade
Gold batch coffee accounts for about 10% of Gesha Village Coffee Estate's annual production, with complex flavors and great rarity. These rare coffees are the finest from Gesha Village Coffee Estate aside from the Auction batches.
Many baristas choose Gold batches as competition beans, and roasters with high quality demands also purchase them. Gold batches have complete traceability, with each lot featuring outstanding flavors and high complexity.
FrontStreet Coffee's Gold Gesha coffee beans from this year's new season come from the Oma block, processed using a sun-dried method with a drying time of up to 32 days, and the variety is the Gesha 1931 exclusive to the Oma block.
What Variety Is Gesha 1931
Gesha 1931 was confirmed through observation of plant morphology, bean shape and size, combined with cupping performance, and is considered the closest to the mother plant of Panama Geisha.
Through FrontStreet Coffee's cupping comparison, it was found that the new-season Gesha Village Gold coffee beans exhibit intense berry aromatics, a melon-like fullness, citrus-like fresh acidity, chamomile-like floral notes, and a tea-like sweet aftertaste.
How to Brew Gesha Village Gold?
To preserve the unique bright acidity of Ethiopian coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee roasts the beans to a medium-light level. Coffee beans from high-altitude regions have a less dense structure, and combined with a shorter roasting time, the bean structure does not change much, making the substances in the coffee difficult to extract.
Therefore, when brewing medium-light roasted coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends a medium-fine grind / fine sugar coarseness (80% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve). Take 15 grams of coffee powder, use a V60 dripper, 90-91°C water temperature, a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, and brew using a three-pour technique.
First rinse the filter paper and preheat the dripper and carafe. Bloom with 30 grams of water for 30 seconds, then pour in a thin stream in circles until reaching 125 grams, then pause. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring in circles until reaching 225 grams and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper (start timing from the beginning of the bloom). The extraction time is about 2 minutes.
Brewed flavor of Gesha Village Gold coffee beans: sweet berry aromatics, a full and mellow mouthfeel, with slight chamomile and red berry flavors, and a finish with melon notes and a tea-like sensation.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
