Gesha Village Coffee Estate
Producer
GESHA VILLAGE COFFEE ESTATE
First time cooperation: 2022
Cooperation model: Direct Trade
Founder: Adam Overton & Rachel Samuel
Partner: Willem Boot
To the far west of Ethiopia, a few kilometers from the South Sudan border are the lush green forests of the Bench Maji region. It has beautiful natural scenery where we can enjoy the panoramic view of the ancient forest stretching from a large plateau. That breathtaking majesty is home to the Gesha Village Coffee Estate, a 471-hectare coffee farm that brings out the beautiful flavors inside the Specialty Surma coffee beans. The farm results from the labor of love and pride in coffees that bring great inspiration from the ecosystem.
The Gesha Village team was built from a simple partnership to a lifelong friendship of passionate people who want to contribute to this great industry. Rachel Samuel – the first link of a strong relationship that aroused the love of the country, Ethiopian people and the team’s passion. The path to Gesha, building the legendary Gesha Village, is sharply drawn with the solid knowledge base of Willem Boot, a coffee educator based in the San Francisco Bay area. His undying passion is Gesaha and is shaped by the basic yet rigorous principles of growing and evaluating coffee with a focus on quality.
Months after returning to Ethiopia to find suitable land to launch the Gesha coffee project, the Gesha Village staff have found where they belong – a site of high altitude and abundant rainfall. A mild climate and other critical natural factors are needed to produce excellent quality coffee: Bench Maji. Besides the pristine ecosystem, this area is also located near the Gori Gesha forest, where the Gesha coffee variety is grown; and the famous Gesha Panama coffee variety was discovered in the 1930s.
They quickly set to work, selecting wild Gesha coffee tree seeds from the Gori Gesha forest. With precious assets gathered from mother nature, the Gesha Village team has spent months tirelessly transforming their remote land into a full-fledged coffee farm that operates continuously with a wide variety of coffees. The best Gesha coffee in the world. In the process, they helped shape the coffee industry in Gesha’s birthplace. Western Ethiopia used to be largely disconnected from the global Specialty coffee market. Still, with Gesha Village’s efforts, world-class Gesha coffee has come closer to consumers to tell the story of the planting area and the people here.
Gesha Village Development is a humbling story of revival, community and innovation. The staff here is always working hard to continue sharing the journey with the Specialty coffee community worldwide.
