Besides the Red Label and Green Label Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda, there is another group of somewhat well-known "labeled" Geishas on the Front Street Coffee bean list blackboard. They are the Gold Label Geisha and Red Label Geisha from the Gesha Village Estate in Ethiopia.Front Street Coffee has previously shared the grading system of Hacienda La Esmeralda, and also shared a horizontal comparison of the Geishas from the two estates. However, because there is not much introduction about Gesha Village's Gold Label and Red Label, friends always stop in front of Front Street Coffee's blackboard, pondering the differences between them.So today Front Street Coffee will share with everyone what exactly the differences are between Gesha Village's Gold Label and Red Label, as the two most popular products from Gesha Village.Before that, we need to know that.......Besides the Gold Label and Red Label, Gesha Village Estate also has other grades of products such as Auction, Green Label, and Chaka. And this set of standards, just as most friends think, has certain similarities with Hacienda La Esmeralda's grading system.As Front Street Coffee has introduced before, these so-called labels are not actually the original names of these products. Rather, because the original names are too hard to pronounce, in order to communicate more simply, we Chinese have "colloquialized" their names -- that is, naming them by the color of their product labels and their varieties.For example, the name Gold Label Geisha comes from the fact that this product's label background color is gold, and the coffee variety sold is Geisha, so it got the name Gold Label Geisha. Then the same reasoning applies to other things like Red Label and Green Label. The only thing to note is that behind the various labels at Gesha Village Estate, the varieties are not necessarily all Geisha.Next is the geographical location and plot division of Gesha Village Estate. Gesha Village Estate is located in Ethiopia'sBench Majiin a local area called Gesha Village, covering about 471 hectares, with a coffee planting area of about 320 hectares, and a planting density maintained at 7,000 trees/hectare. The estate owner Adam Overton divided it into eight blocks, and the coffee grown in each block will have a different taste of terroir.So without further ado, next Front Street Coffee will share what differences there are between Gesha Village Estate's Gold Label and Red Label~Definition of Gesha Village Gold LabelGold Label Geisha is the top coffee of Gesha Village apart from the auction coffee. Its original name is"Rarities", which translates to "rare treasure."Its output accounts for only about 10% of Gesha Village Estate's annual production. It is relatively rare and has complete traceability. Because of its outstanding flavor and complex, varied taste, many competition contestants use Gold Label Geisha as their competition beans.It is worth mentioning that although Gold Label Geisha is named Geisha, its variety is not the Panama Geisha variety that we all talk about(T2722), but rather "Gesha 1931".(The variety in the picture is Panama Geisha T2722, and the variety on the right is Gesha 1931.)Gesha 1931 is a variety carefully selected by the owner of Gesha Village Estate when he went to the forest where Geisha was discovered back then. Whether in bean appearance or flavor performance, it is very close to what we call Panama Geisha(T2722), so the owner of Gesha Village Estate named it "Gesha 1931"(1931 is the year Geisha was collected from the forest by expedition members at that time).Definition of Gesha Village Red LabelThe official name of Gesha Village Red Label is "Growers Reserve", which translates to "Growers Reserve."The coffee beans in Gesha Village Red Label lots account for about 15% of Gesha Village Estate's annual production, a bit higher than the Gold Label. Likewise, it is also a lot with complete traceability.Gesha Village Estate's requirement for Red Label is a cupping score above 88 points. No matter the variety, as long as the score meets the standard, it can be exported and sold as a Red Label lot. Compared with the Gold Label, which is closer to Panama Geisha in all aspects, Gesha Village Red Label's flavor expression tends more toward Ethiopia's native flavor.The variety of the Red Label lot selected by Front Street Coffee isGori Geisha, which is also a variety found locally by the estate owner. Although it is named Geisha, whether in appearance or flavor, it is basically not very related to the Geisha in our understanding.Coincidentally, the Gesha Village Gold Label and Red Label currently sold by Front Street Coffee on Taobao Tmall both use the natural processing method, which allows us to more intuitively compare the differences between the two. Therefore, Front Street Coffee will next compare what differences there are in the taste of Gesha Village's Gold Label and Red Label.Since the Front Street Coffee Gesha Village Gold Label and Front Street Coffee Gesha Village Red Label on Front Street Coffee's bean list have the same roast level and processing, the parameters used are also the same, as follows:Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15Grind setting: Ek43 setting 10, 75%~80% passing through a No. 20 sieve, fine granulated sugar particle sizeBrewing water temperature: 92°CBrewing time: about 2 minutes 10 secondsDry aroma:The dry aroma of Gesha Village Red Label smells of very bright citrus fruit notes, very fresh and highly pleasing; the dry aroma of Gesha Village Gold Label, on top of citrus, has additional aromas similar to honeysuckle, and then some sweet apricot-peach fragrance. Compared with the former, Gesha Village Gold Label's aroma is softer and has richer layers.Flavor:The just-brewed Gesha Village Red Label has a flavor profile of very classic Ethiopian coffee aromas such as citrus, strawberry, mango, and pineapple. The overall acidity is bright, the mouthfeel is clean and smooth, with a finish like green tangerine tea;The flavor profile of Gesha Village Gold Label has blueberry, honeydew melon, sweet cherry, and elegant white floral notes. The overall acidity is soft, clean, and elegant. On careful aftertaste, one can taste fruit flavors such as citrus and mango, as well as an oolong tea finish, very comfortable. The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
