This rich and structured natural-process gesha greets you with aromas of navel orange, Swiss chocolate, and caramel. Notes of passionfruit, cocoa nib, and prune in the cup are accompanied by grilled pineapple acidity and a round body. A juniper note provides a cooling, savory finish.

Details

Producer: Gesha Village
Farm: Bangi
Region: Bench Maji Zone, Western Ethiopia
Altitude: 6,270-6,565 feet
Varietal: Gori Gesha
Process: Natural
Roast: Light
Notes: Swiss Chocolate, Passionfruit, Juniper

The Story

Near the border of South Sudan you find the wild and dense forests of the Bench Maji zone, home to the radiant Gesha variety—a coffee that has astonished coffee drinkers around the globe with sparkling clean profiles.

While producing a documentary about Ethiopian coffee in 2007, Rachel Samuel and Adam Overton fell in love with the country, its people, and its coffee industry. With guidance from San Francisco-based coffee educator and Gesha enthusiast Willem Boot, Rachel and Adam returned to Ethiopia to seek a location for their nascent Gesha-growing venture.

Gesha Village was found by Rachel and Adam six years ago near the Gori Gesha forest, where the famed variety was discovered. Their 471-hectare farm has high elevation, ample rainfall, temperate climates, and fruitful land. Rachel and Adam started to select wild Gesha plants from the Gori Gesha forest and planted these among indigenous trees.

2000 coffee trees per hectare were paired with more than 30,000 native shade trees. Their agroforestry farming approach creates a balance between the original environment and the commercial management of the farm.

Key Production notes from Gesha Village

• "Gori Gesha is an heirloom variety that replicates the genetic diversity within the Gori Gesha forest. These seeds were harvested in 2011 through our own expedition.

• "We have divided Gesha Village into eight sub-farms—which we refer to as blocks—where we track the production of our three varieties, as well as experiment with different approaches to processing and fermentation. Cherries picked from each block are tagged to indicate their origin, and through a tracking system we developed in-house, we follow their journey all the way from the mill to export.

• "The coffee is sun-dried with the whole coffee cherry intact in thin layers on raised African beds. A parabolic plastic cover is used in the evening for increased air-flow to the coffee. The coffee undergoes 18 to 30 total drying days in the natural process."