Ethiopia is the origin of coffee including Gesha
The Gori Gesha forest in Ethiopia is where the Gesha coffee variety originated. It is located in South West Ethiopia between Mizan Teferi and Maji. Gesha coffee is also known and spelt as Geisha. However, due to its origin GESHA is the correct spelling. Gesha coffee beans are premium and rare and one of the most expensive varieties in the world due to its unique taste.
Gesha Coffee
A ripened coffee cherry bean on an organic Ethiopian coffee plantation.
an in demand award winning coffee variety
Gesha coffee beans were not as well known globally until more recent years when they were entered into coffee competitions and started to win multiple awards. This Ethiopian coffee with exceptional and consistent quality is now in high demand. It is no longer exclusive to Ethiopia, with other countries now growing this coffee plant originally from Ethiopia.
south west ethiopia has the altitude needed for growing gesha
South West Ethiopia has optimal coffee growing conditions. Rich soil, dense jungle canopies, high altitudes and plentiful rainfall with the perfect temperate climate.
Rich Soil and lots of rain make accessing the farms challenging!
We crossed flowing rivers, changed vehicles, drove on mushy slippery tracks and got bogged twice!
A meticulous attention to detail ensures quality gesha cherries
To successfully grow quality Gesha coffee beans it needs quality inspections throughout every stage. Whilst the Gesha coffee trees are disease resistant, they provide other challenges for farming. The Gesha is not as easy to cultivate and can produce less than 50% of beans than other coffee tree varieties. The coffee cherries must be hand picked upon maturity so selective and timely picking is crucial.
A Gesha specialist was visiting the Gesha coffee farm on the same day. He was assessing every stage and providing feedback.
Salayish integrated Farm
In 2019 Paul from KBean coffee joined me for a coffee tour in Ethiopia. We met with Abraham, the owner of Salayish Integrated Farm who had a rapidly growing Gesha coffee farm. He also has the Salayish Hotels in Mizan Teferi (Hotel Salayish the Grand is the newest and most upmarket) and he was building a tourist lodge on his coffee farm.
A lodge on the coffee farm was being built on our 2019 trip with plans for coffee lovers, and tourists to spend time here.
Gesha coffee is in high demand
In 2019 there had already been 400 acres of Gesha coffee planted on this particular farm. There were another 210 acres which were being prepared for more planting. The first 400 acres were at an altitude of 1100m above sea level, with the additional 210 being a higher altitude of 1500m.
We visited during school holidays and there was plenty of activity on the farm, with more mature seedlings ready for planting.
There were so many workers, and whilst most were super busy, we did find some time to stop and take some photos and share some time. They seemed to enjoy and be intrigued by us visiting.
video of our day at Salayish Integrated Farm, South West Ethiopia
Hotels in Mizan teferi
I saw Abraham again on one of my other tours in 2022. It was great to stay in his new hotel Salayish The Grand in Mizan Teferi. There are two hotels with similar names, so if you want the budget option choose the original Hotel Salayish. If you want more comfort and four star hotel then the new Grand hotel is the one to choose. I’ve found the staff at both places really welcoming and friendly.
Group photo with Paul (KBEAN), Abraham and me surrounded by many of the workers on the farm
You can read more about my time in the Bench Maji Zone on a previous blog post here
You can read about a wonderful family we met after visiting this coffee farm here
Many people visiting the Suri tribe spend a night enroute in Mizan. You can find out more about staying with the Suri tribe here
Paul from KBean has a short blog post about his private coffee tour which you can find here