Gesha Village Coffee Estate – Ethiopian coffee restructuring brand
– FIND THE ORIGIN –
Gesha Village Coffee Estate is an integrated area with 8 coffee farms in Bench Maji, southwest Ethiopia. This village was born in 2011, from an inspiring project by Adam Overton and Rachel Samuel. It was the inspiration for the revival and innovation of the wild Ethiopian coffee variety. And after more than 11 years of research, development, and conservation efforts, today Gesha Village Coffee Estate is considered the birthplace of Ethiopian coffee lines and inspiring environmental sustainability famous the world. Join 43 Factory Coffee Roaster to explore this magical village.
Overview of Gesha Village Coffee Estate
Total area | 471 ha |
Coffee growing area | 320 ha |
Location | Western Omo, Southwest Ethiopia Region |
Height | 1909 – 2069 m above sea level |
Soil | Primary forest, red-brown forest land |
Coffee harvest season | Early October to mid-January |
Protected areas | 27% |
The ideal journey of Gesha Village Coffee Estate
Sustainable coffee development
Sustainable coffee is coffee grown in a way that conserves nature and provides better benefits to those involved in production. It is a solid bridge linking organic coffee production and fair trade.
Gesha Village Coffee Estate’s coffee sustainability journey dates back to 2007. During a short trip to Ethiopia, founders Adam Overton and Rachel Samuel discovered the awesomeness of Gesha from wild Ethiopian coffee varieties. Since then, they have dreamed of producing their own coffee with the goal of becoming the best, most environmentally conscious coffee farm.
About quality development
The dream of becoming the best coffee farm in the world was started by Adam Overton and Rachel Samuel in 2011. After the survey process, they chose the lush jungles of the Western Omo region as the place to develop their “Gesha Village“. This place has an area of nearly 500ha with an altitude of over 1900m and is divided into 8 large farm “blocks”. The purpose of dividing into such blocks is to increase transparency and facilitate the development of coffee quality. Each farm block is meticulously cared for, and suitable for each individual geographical condition so that coffee can reveal all the perfect beauty of Ethiopian land. At the same time, coffee grown on each farm block with separate living conditions will produce unique coffee flavors associated with each growing region.
In parallel with farm development, Gesha Village Coffee Estate invests in educating farmers. Every year, they invite local and international specialty coffee experts and hold “Gubalangi” seminars on farms. These seminars focus on providing farmers with farming methods, and solutions to improve the quality, taste, and clarity of coffee. And this has helped the farmers here understand and work better on the journey to develop the taste and coffee industry of the country.
On sustainable environmental responsibility
Besides the ideal of becoming the leading specialty coffee farm, Gesha Village Coffee Estate is also aware of the importance of environmental protection. Since its inception, the coffee village’s associates have taken many measures to reduce the negative impact on the environment as much as possible, such as:
– Apply agroforestry farming methods to balance commercial business and soil sustainability.
– Actively restore forests by replanting shade trees on areas of land that have been severely damaged. And they planted more than 30,000 seedlings in just one year that reviving Ethiopia’s forests. These results have brought a balance of biodiversity and created a sustainable ecosystem for the coffee industry.
– The founders of this village also attach great importance to the protection of water resources. They promote research and investment in modern technological machinery to save water in wet preliminary processes. In particular, this place also uses a local water filtration system to reuse and protect clean water sources.
– Moreover, the coffee production of this farm prioritizes the reuse of materials. They take advantage of shells, and coffee grounds to make mulch, fuel, and organic fertilizers to protect the environment.
Coffee varieties at Gesha Village Coffee Estate
For the sake of quality, the process of selecting cultivated varieties to develop the taste of the “Gesha village” is quite long and arduous. The Gesha seeds at Gesha Village Coffee Estate are searched and selected through meticulous exploration and genetic testing. So far, this growing region has collected 3 exceptionally rare coffee varieties from universities and research centers in Ethiopia:
Gori Gesha
This coffee variety was found by the founders of Gesha Village during an expedition in the Gori Gesha forest. And because this coffee line is full of features that recreate the genetic diversity of the forest it grew up in, it has been named Gori Gesha.
This specialty coffee variety is grown in Bangi, Shewa- Jibabu, and Shaya farmers with an altitude of 1,926-2,069m. Gori Gesha’s flavor is rich in the bittersweetness of dark chocolate, and spices mixed with the delicate aromas of orange, tangerine, strawberry, honeysuckle, and jasmine.
Gesha 1931
Gesha 1931 was collected from forest populations that closely resemble the site of the discovery of the Panamanian Gesha. The farm’s expedition team looked at the shape, size as well as characteristics of this plant and selected very carefully to decide on the selection and development of this particular variety.
Gesha 1931 is seeded on olive farms, Narsha, Surma has an average elevation of 1,909-2,063m. Gesha 1931 has flavors of honeysuckle, jasmine, and chocolate that closely resemble Gori Gesha. However, due to being grown in fertile valleys, this traditional coffee line has unique flavors of roses, apricots, candied fruits, and sweet honey.
Illubabor Forest
The coffee variety Illubabor Forest was found in 1974 during an expedition to the Illubabor Forest. This variety was chosen by Gesha Village Coffee Estate for its excellent disease resistance.
llubabor Forest grows on two beautiful farms dimma and kaylee with an altitude of 1,966-2,019m. llubabor Forest has a complex of flavors of fruit, and the sweetness of marzipan, nuts, and hibiscus flowers.
At this point, we can see that this Gesha village is always loyal to the mission of premium coffee quality in every stage of cultivation, as well as doing its best to protect sustainable coffee. The journey of enthusiastic people is very long and full of flavor like their coffee. If you’re interested and want to try the coffee here, head to 43 Factory Coffee Roaster. The workshop offers you a cup of soft flavored Surma coffee so that you can connect closer to this beautiful land.
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– Surma coffee – Gesha coffee for the environment
