GESHA – GESHA VILLAGE LOT #59 NATURAL

The lots of this first ever Gesha Village Estate coffee auction have been meticulously selected by a dedicated team of cuppers at our coffee laboratory in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and at the coffee lab of our partner Willem Boot in San Rafael, California, USA. All cupping sessions have been conducted using the official protocols of the Specialty Coffee Association. All auction lots passed through at least 6 consecutive cupping rounds before becoming eligible for the Gesha Village Estate coffee auction.

In 2014 I was lucky enough to visit the lovely Gesha Village in Ethiopia. This experience changed my life. It was an incredible ordeal just to reach the farm (those who have visited know the difficulties). The farm consisted of 8 sub farms, and it was established by Adam Overton in 2011. Each sub farm is divided according to its microclimate and plant varieties. The estate location was chosen based on the strict criteria of altitude (1900-2100 MASL), ample rainfall, temperature patterns, rich virgin forest soil, old growth trees, and an existing coffee ecosystem.

A seed selection had been harvested from the Gori Gesha wild coffee forest found 20 km from the farm- the site where the famous Panamanian Gesha was selected from in the 1930s. Currently, there are 6 coffee varieties growing on the estate. These are washed with an eco-friendly Penagos wet-mill or processed as naturals. Importantly, due to the overwhelming success of initial cupping trials of the native Gesha variety, they have partnered with the local community to bring this coffee to the market. It is washed and processed by the farm, but grown by surrounding farmers or gathered from the wild coffee forest. Gesha Village share a significant amount of the profits they receive from the sales of this coffee with the local community.

In the first three years they have planted over 30,000 native shade trees on land that had previously been deforested. Research, conservation, and exploration of the Gesha variety are ongoing aims of the farm. They have begun projects on genetic testing, climate research and a Gesha botanical garden. The planting density of the farm at 2000-trees/hectare is moderate and supports a sustainable ecosystem for their coffee.

Gesha Village’s priority is maintaining the rich biodiversity of the native forest canopy that the heirloom Gesha coffee spontaneously grows in. We are proud that Gesha Village is known for producing one of the best cup profiles in the world. We at Cartel have been lucky enough to cup each year since the project begun. In doing so, we have the privilege to cup the lots prior to the auction, specifically from Bangi, Narsha Gaylee, Dimma, Shaya, Oma, Surma and Shewa-Jibabu. The cup profiles have improved dramatically each year, with this year having one of the best cup profiles yet.