Blind Assessment

High-toned, zesty, lushly floral. Deep, honeyish floral notes (lavender, tea-rose), brightly juicy guava, candied lemon, sandalwood in aroma and cup. Richly and sweetly tart in structure; plushly syrupy in mouthfeel. The finish backs off just a bit from the spectacular cup but the flowers and tart fruit in particular ring on.

Notes

This coffee tied for the second-highest rating in a tasting of 20 coffees of the Gesha (also spelled Geisha) variety for Coffee Review‘s September 2017 tasting report. With its generally elongated beans and distinctive floral and crisp, often chocolaty cup, the Gesha variety continues to distinguish itself as one of the world’s rarest and most unique coffees. Although the Gesha variety originated in Ethiopia, it was “discovered” by the coffee world in 2004 growing in Boquete, Panama, and Panama continues to dominate the expanding world of Gesha. This particular version, however, is the outcome of efforts to commercialize Gesha 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 in the nearby Gori Gesha forest. This is a dry-processed or “natural” version, meaning the beans were dried inside the fruit rather than after the fruit has been removed, as is the case with wet-processed or “washed” coffees. Kakalove Café is a nano-roaster located in the small city of Chia-Yi in Taiwan that strives to procure and roast the finest quality coffee. Visit www.kakalovecafe.com.tw or email [email protected] for more information.

Bottom Line

Both zesty and richly floral, a dried-in-the-fruit Gesha cup offering an extraordinary range of striking but harmonious aroma and flavor notes.

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