Bench Maji, Boma Plateau and Eastern Equatoria creates the golden triangle of Gesha coffee that cultivates in the wild of a dense forest. The coffee that consist a naturally sparkling clean acidity-rich profile.
Back in the 2007, Rachel Samuel and Adam Overton developed a passion for coffee production while producing a documentary about Ethiopian coffee in 2007. They fell in love with the country, its people and the coffee. They went on to meet Willem Boot, a coffee educator and also a processor for Panaman Geisha. They became the apprentice of Willem Boot. After the intense training with Willem, Rachel and Adam returned to Bench Maji, in search for the perfect spot for a coffee farm.
After months of searching, they found a beautiful spot, untouched and just a few miles away from the birthplace of the Famous Panamanian Geisha. In 2011 the project to revived the legendary Ethiopian Gesha coffee began.
Today, the farm total area is 471 hectares, 320 hectares is planted with coffee. The farms sits at and altitude of between 1909 to 2069 masl. After its 12th season, the farm is segregated into 8 sub farms or block they are Shewa-Jibabu, Dimma, Shaya, Bagni, Narsha, Gaylee, Oma and Surma.
What we have in the selection are two coffee block from Dimma and One coffee block from Shewa-Jibabu. The name Dimma is given after the famous gold mine that located in the north of the farm while the name Shewa-Jibabu is given after the village where most of the workers are from.
In Size, Dimma consist of 28.7 hectares while Shewa Jibabu is around 48.5 hectares. This two block is plated with two different variety of coffee. They are the Illubabor Forest variety and Gori Gesha Variety. The illubabor Forest variety is a disease resistant variety that was made from an expedition to the Illubabor coffee forest in 1974. While Gori Geisha is an original heirloom variety that replicates the genetic diversity within the Gori Gesha forest, the seeds were harvested in through Rachel and Adam’s own expedition.
The three coffee lots that we have are processed in 3 different method. They are:
Washed
In this process, mechanical scrubber is used to remove the mucilage from the coffee cherries. Then the cherries undergo a full wet fermentation where it is 12 to 36 hours and then channel washed. The coffee is then shade-dried for 2 to 3 days until it reaches 30% moisture than sundried on African beds until it reach 11 % moisture. The whole process takes around 12 to 19 total drying days
Natural
In this process, the cherries is sun-dried together with the cherry is still intact on a raised African beds. The coffee undergoes 18 to 30 total drying days in this process. The layer of cherries during the drying process are the main variable for flavour profile
Honey
In this processing method, the skin of the cherries is removed by a pulper without the presence of water. After pulping, the coffee pass by the demucilager to retain its mucilage and it is then dried on an African beds until it reach 11% moisture. The percentage of the mucilage is the main variable for flavour profiling.
The Tasting Notes:
Dimma Block – Illubabor Forest Lot 018 – Honey Process
Upon grounding, the dry aroma of peach, oolong tea and strawberry. At first sip, jasmine, black tea with lychee aroma followed by peach aroma with oolong tea floral aftertaste. The coffee is delicate.
Variety : Illubabor Forest
Altitude : 1966 to 2019 masl
Process : Honey
Origin : Dimma
Dimma Block – Illubabor Forest Lot 071 – Natural Process
Upon grounding, it has blueberry, grape and bergamot aroma. At first sip, the main flavor is dominated by blueberries and grapes followed by peaches, with bergamot. The bergamot has a fudge-like sweetness with strong flavor. The coffee is sweet with dense flavor.
Variety : Illubabor Forest
Altitude : 1966 to 2019 masl
Process : Natural
Origin : Dimma
Shewa-Jibabu Block – Gori Gesha – Washed Process
Upon grounding, it has honey, orange peel and hint of bergamot. At first sip orange juice, honey grapefruit tea taste with hint or bergamot. The coffee is smooth with sweet textrure.
Variety : Gori Gesha
Altitude : 1973 to 2069 masl
Process : Washed
Origin : Shewa-Jibabu