Bean Bros Special Release #4 - Gesha Village Lot 82 by Cupping Room

Our latest Special Release takes us on an epic adventure to Hong Kong, home of Cupping Room Coffee Roasters and two-time World Barista Championship finalist Kapo Chiu.

Bean Bros and Kapo have specially chosen a wonderfully complex gesha coffee varietal produced by Gesha Village Coffee Estate to excite your taste buds. Read on for more insights into our featured roaster and producer.

Having two WBC trophies under your belt (2nd place in 2014 & 3rd in 2017) as well as several regional trophies, what made you decide to start your own roastery?

Competing in Barista championships at the highest level has given me the opportunity to work with some of the best Roasters in the world. I reckon each Roasters that I’ve worked with was good in their own way but becoming a roaster myself allows me to put my stamp on our coffees in a way that I can’t do just by serving other’s coffees.

I personally enjoy coffee that is sweet, bright, juicy, clean and sweet. I said sweet twice because I think sweetness is twice as important as the others. And this reflects in my roasting style.

What difference do you want to make within the industry as a roaster and barista / cafe owner?

We want everyone to brew like a champ, brewing the best coffee every single time, anytime. Sourcing great coffees is a good starting point. Because we roasted for many baristas for their competition, we have good relationships with some of the best coffee producers around the world. This gives us a unique opportunity to offer a wide selection of competition level coffee to our customers throughout the year, which otherwise would have only been drunk by the judges in the competition.

Our featured coffee is from Gesha Village Coffee Estate, how do you choose which producers you want to work with, and can you please tell us more about this coffee we are featuring?

Adam and Rachel Overton have done a really great job with a relatively young farm, delivering cup quality and value in premium coffee market. I was very happy to use their coffees in the World Barista Championship in 2017 and placed 3rd. That recognition helped our customers understand the quality of coffees coming from Gesha Village.

The coffee we’ve selected to be featured is from their most recent harvest (December 2018 to January 2019). It’s a naturally processed Gesha 1931 variety, which is most like the floral and jasmine-like gesha from Panama, planted in the “Surma” block in Gesha Village. This block is named after the pastoralist ethnic group, the Surma, and the coffees coming from this part of the estate exhibit characters of rose, strawberries, red apples, and delicate spice. In this particular lot, Lot 82, we find wonderful strawberry, red apple, and watermelon notes. Delicate, wonderfully clean coffee.

Interview with Adam Overton.

Gesha Village Coffee Estate has been enjoying huge success in the past few years since launch and demand for your excellent coffees keep increasing... Did you foresee this growth and success of your farm, or was this a big surprise?

Our success have definitely been a surprise! It’s always been our intention to be a top farm, but I never thought it would happen this fast - it’s only our 5th harvest. Cup quality has always been the guide for our decision making process, but you never know exactly what will happen until years after you plant the trees.

The past few years the industry has seen more and more producers experimenting with different types of processing methods beyond washed, natural and honey, will Gesha Village be offering these types of different processes as well and why?

We have started experimenting with various processes in the past 2 years. This year, out of 28 experiments, 6 have been selected for our auction, so that’s promising. We will continue to refine these processes in years to come, as people are always seeking a new flavor experience.