Eugene, Oregon’s Equiano Coffee Company is proud to introduce their latest and arguably most exotic coffee offering this year, their exquisite new Gesha varietal from Colombia!

Gesha, or “Geisha” as it is sometimes spelled, is an exotic specialty grade variety of coffee with a rich, albeit debatable history. The consensus among some industry professionals as to the coffee’s proper spelling relates to where a specific genetic variant of this variety comes from.

“The coffee roaster I currently work for sources their ‘Gesha’ from Colombia, but the plant itself traces back to Africa: It’s still considered ‘Gesha’ because of where the plant originated from,” said Alexandria Dancy. -Daily Coffee News

Originally from the Gesha Mountain region of Ethiopia, this varietal eventually made its way to Costa Rica where it adapted to the region and eventually producing flavor characteristics distinct from its Ethiopian predecessor.

“ They found that morphological differences of Gesha plants are not driven solely by genetic variables, but rather a combination of genetic variations and phenotypic plasticity (related to how plants cope with variations in environment), and discovered a wide range of genetic variation existing within the cultivar. -Daily Coffee News

So what does this all mean? Simply put, the Colombian “Gesha” that traces its roots to Ethiopia is going to produce different flavor characteristics than the “Geisha” from growing regions such as Panama and Costa Rica.

“While the history of the variety itself is long and somewhat contested, Geisha’s big splash in the coffee world came relatively recently, in Panama, when a family farm called Hacienda La Esmeralda more or less blew away the competition at the 2004 Best of Panama competition with a variety called Geisha — a coffee so lusciously floral and sweet that it is unforgettable and unmistakable.” -Daily Coffee News

Gesha coffees can often be some of the most expensive raw, green coffee beans for roasters to purchase, due to the coffee’s intensely delicious and award-winning flavor profiles. Luckily for fans of Equiano Coffee, Okon Udosenata, the company’s co-owner, and Roastmaster has never shy-ed away from sourcing the best tasting small farm coffees on the market.

Not one to be willing to compromise quality for the sake of a coffees price, Udosenata was quick to snatch up some of this smooth, chocolaty, and mildly fruity coffee grown in Chinchina, Caldas, also known as “Colombia’s coffee heart”.

Carefully roasted to a light golden-brown, Udosenata has a knack for being able to bring out the very best of flavors in single varietal coffees through the roasting process. Both, his placings at regional & national roasting competitions as well as his loyal following of coffee lovers at Equiano Coffee attest to this fact.

Expounding on his new Gesha offering, available at the Equiano Tasting Room, Udosenata says, “I’m really enjoying it, it has notes of Starfruit, Chocolate and mild citrus.”

Additional flavor characteristics are given by professional coffee cuppers (tasters) that have scrutinized this Colombian grown Gesha include Cherry, Floral, Fruity, Moderate Citric Acidity, Red Fruits, a Creamy Body, and a Prolonged Residual on the Tongue.

This Gesha received high scores in the areas of “Taste”, “Aroma”, “Body”, and”Acidity” (Don’t worry, we’re referring more to “acidity” as a flavor characteristic of the coffee’s sweetness rather than to its physical “acidity” that tends to hurt some people’s tummy).

So if you’re looking for a coffee enjoyment experience that’s anything but the ordinary, The Equiano Coffee tasting room is an excellent place to start. In addition to the Colombian Gesha, the tasting room always offers a wide range of small far, single varietal coffees to choose from. From Colombia and Brazil to Viet Nam and beyond, Equiano has something special for every coffee lover.

“Great beans. Simple menu with no wrong choices. Lovely folks. Solid music. Total must visit if you like your coffee in traditional styles.” -Michael H., Google Maps Local Guide

“New to town. Happened upon Equiano. Barista was a sweetheart of a man, coffee and cookie were very tasty and you knew you were drinking coffee. Love that! You have our support and we will be back.” -Donna C.

“I stopped into the coffee shop for the first time today and was so utterly impressed by every aspect of my visit! The staff greeted me in a warm manner, there were several awesome coffees to choose from (I went with the Guatemalan), and the treat selection was fantastic… not to mention that the atmosphere is so calming and lovely! There are several spots to sit inside, but this shop also shares outdoor patio space with Vanilla Jill’s, which resides next door. I ordered a latte with their homemade cashew milk, and it was legit! Not too sweet, well balanced, and altogether delicious. I cannot recommend this place highly enough. It’s definitely my new favorite spot in Eugene.” -Brian W. DPT, CHT, CLT

When visiting the Tasting Room , you can enjoy the new Colombian Gesha as an espresso, Americano coffee, Cappuccino or Latte. You may find it brewed up as the shop’s “house coffee” at any given time but can always order a single cup to enjoy brewed up pour-over style by your friendly Barista. And if your timing is just right you might be lucky enough to find the Gesha available as Cold Brew.

And if you’re feeling adventurous, you can choose the Gesha as one of three coffees to taste side-by-side in your own “flight” of Equiano coffees. The contrast when tasting three coffees, each with differing and unique flavor characteristics, is a great way to help your palate to begin recognizing the different nuanced flavors that you can find in high-quality single varietal coffees!

The Gesha will be featured at Equiano’s tasting room throughout the month of March. Another great way to experience this special coffee is to visit on any Sunday morning this month when the tasting room hosts pastry pop-up events by local chefs and artisan bakers. Both, Humphrey Patisserie and Dominican Delights will be selling their fine pastries at Equiano’s Sunday morning events this month. Pastry pop-ups start at 10am until the pastries sell out.

And if you’re not in Eugene, Oregon, you can still enjoy many of Equiano’s excellent, small farm, single varietal coffees by ordering online from their website at equianocoffee.com ! Stop by the tasting room today and experience the La Suiza, Gesha, Colombian for yourself. Cheers!

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