Gesha Village 1931 Lot 27

Blind Assessment: Richly sweet-savory, deeply floral-toned. Honeysuckle, bergamot, toffee, myrrh, a hint of fresh coriander in aroma and cup. Balanced, structure (sweet-savory) with citrusy acidity; plump, satiny mouthfeel. The finish consolidates around notes of honeysuckle and myrrh with a hint of toffee in the long.

Notes: This coffee tied for the fourth-highest rating in a cupping of coffees of the Geisha/Gesha variety of Arabica for Coffee Review’s September 2019 tasting report. The celebrated Geisha (also spelled Gesha) variety of Arabica first came to the coffee world’s attention growing in Panama. This particular version, however, is the outcome of efforts to commercialize Geisha in the region from which it originally came. It was grown in western Ethiopia by farmers Adam and Rachel Overton and their indigenous Meanit culture collaborators from seed selected from wild trees of the Geisha variety in the nearby Gori Gesha forest. It is a wet-processed or washed coffee, in which the skin and pulp of the fruit is removed before the coffee is dried, encouraging here a particularly floral cup. Mudhouse Coffee Roasters, Roast Magazine’s 2017 Micro-Roaster of the Year, is a small, quality-focused roaster in Charlottesville, Virginia that specializes in “super-specialty” coffees, including Geshas. Visit www.mudhouse.com for more information.

The Bottom Line: A pleasingly coherent coffee that is both sweet and savory in harmonious balance, with floral and fruit tones throughout and an herbaceous note that grounds and enriches the whole.