We have tasted the Gesha from this farm since it was first planted. The trees are still quite young, but this is the first year they produced enough for us to roast. There is only 11 kg of this coffee—so little that we brought it back from Kamavindi in our suitcase last winter. In the cup we find yellow florals, chamomile, red currant, honeydew, and watermelon.
Gesha
Embu
1,680 masl
January, 2024
Harvested at peak ripeness. Hand-sorted and floated to further remove defects. De-pulped on the day of harvest. Mixed to ensure uniform distribution. Dry-fermented for 24 hours. Light wash. Dry-fermented for an additional 24 hours. Washed again, then floated through channels to sort by density and remove any remaining defects. Dried on raised beds under shade nets until moisture content reaches 16%, then moved to upper beds to finish drying to ~10.5%.
ABOUT THE MBATURE FAMILY
This is the first year Kamavindi has produced enough Gesha for us to actually roast and share. This coffee has been years in the making. We've been cupping harvests since the trees were first planted, and it they have always performed exceptionally well. At this point in our coffee journey it is rare to experience something completely new in coffee. But, this coffee is exactly that! Never before have we tasted Gesha cultivated in Kenyan soil and it is beyond exciting. A research team in Nairobi originally discovered Gesha, but for some unknown reason, it was never actually grown in Kenya. Instead, it went to Tanzania, and then eventually on to Costa Rica and Panama, where it grew into what we know today. This is a full circle in many ways, and we couldn't be more excited to be a part of it.
ABOUT GESHA
Gesha was originally collected from coffee forests of Ethiopia in the 1930's. From there, it was sent to the Lyamungo Research Station in Tanzania, and then brought to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Central America in the 1953, where it was logged as accession T2722. It was distributed throughout Panama via CATIE in the 1960’s after its tolerance to coffee leaf rust was recognized. However, it was not widely planted because the plant's branches were brittle and not favored by farmers. Gesha came to prominence in 2005, when the Peterson family of Boquete, Panama, entered it into the Best of Panama competition and auction. It received exceptionally high marks and broke the then-record for green coffee auction prices, selling for over $20 per pound. Since then, the variety has become a resounding favorite of brewing and roasting competition winners and coffee enthusiasts alike.
Pricing Details
DIRECT (GREEN)
$165.00/KG
The cost of getting a coffee from cherry to beverage varies enormously depending on its place of origin and the location of its consumption. The inclusion of price transparency is a starting point to inform broader conversation around the true costs of production and the sustainability of specialty coffee as a whole.