Ethiopia

Dimma

Natural Illubabor 1974

The isolated heirloom varietal Illubabor 1974 is elevated by a careful process, using sealed bags to create a wild expression

Our fourth year working with Gesha Village, pioneers in the ultra high end Ethiopian coffee industry

  • Producer
    Gesha Village
  • Coffee expression
    A fruity & wild coffee
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$27.00

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Taste Description

An anoxic fermentation adds a heavy complexity to the floral notes brought by the isolated heirloom varietal, reminiscent of blueberry yoghurt and dark chocolate.

Illubabor 1974

Dimma

Gesha Village is located only around 20 km from the Gori Gesha forest, where the hallowed varietal of the same name was first isolated by British researchers in 1931. When preparing Gesha Village, the team behind the project trekked into the forest and gathered seeds from the wild coffee trees growing there, selecting individual strains of Geisha to cultivate on their own land. This lot is made up of another varietal selected from those same forests, on an earlier expedition in 1974.

This selection was made by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre, and focused on finding a strain that had a high level of disease resistance and good yields, while retaining very high quality in the cup. While lacking some of the overtly floral character of a true Geisha, Illubabor 1974 closely resembles the cup profile of mixed Ethiopian Heirloom coffees, with clean bergamot often found alongside soft stone fruit and tea-like notes. To create this lot, Illubabor Forest cherries were harvested from the Dimma plot of the farm, located at over 2000 metres above sea level, before processing using anoxic fermentation. Full cherries were placed in the same GrainPro bags that coffee is often shipped in, and placed under a plastic cover to protect from sunlight. These thick plastic bags are impermeable to water and oxygen, so when they are sealed and the cherries begin to ferment, the bags expand as carbon dioxide is produced. After 84 hours of fermentation, the cherries were dried using raised African beds in very thin layers, so almost no fermentation is allowed to occur on the beds.

This adds a heavy complexity to the floral notes brought by the isolated heirloom varietal, reminiscent of blueberry yoghurt and dark chocolate.

Bench Maji

Gesha Village

Gesha Village lies in the Bench Maji zone of South Western Ethiopia, not far from the border with South Sudan. This area, in the high altitude humid forests where the Great Rift Valley passes into South Sudan, is thought to be the birthplace of Arabica coffee, and is still home to great genetic diversity. Here at Gesha Village however, one varietal sits in the spotlight; Geisha. Adam Overton and Rachel Samuel first travelled to Ethiopia in 2007 to make a documentary about its unique method of coffee production, and fell in love with the country. They decided during that short trip that they would eventually move to the country to start producing coffee themselves. They found a 471 hectare plot of land in Bench Maji, further west than we normally find specialty coffee in Ethiopia, in a remote area of untouched high altitude forest. The wild forest remained as coffee was planted, maintaining as much as possible of the biodiversity so crucial to the Ethiopian mode of production, while also providing ample shade for the fragile Geisha trees.

This isn’t just any Geisha however. Gesha Village is located only around 20 km from the Gori Gesha forest, where the hallowed varietal of the same name was first isolated by British researchers in 1931. When preparing Gesha Village, the team behind the project trekked into the forest and gathered seeds from the wild coffee trees growing there, selecting those that genetically resembled the original 1931 expedition Geisha.

Technical Data

  • Producer

    Gesha Village
  • Region

    Bench Maji
  • Altitude

    2000 masl
  • Varietal

    Illubabor 1974
  • Process

    Natural
  • Harvest

    January 2022

Natural Process

The natural, or dry process, is the traditional process, going back generations. When accomplished in a controlled and careful manner, dry processed coffees can produce flavour experiences not found in wet processed coffees, deep fruits and florals, normally with heavier mouthfeel and lower acidity. The cherries are first sorted, and then laid out on in thin layers (2-6 cm) on raised drying beds. These are almost always used for high quality naturals, as they aid airflow around the coffee as it dries, enabling more even drying. 

It is very important that coffees are sorted very carefully early on in the drying process, as all of the cherries quickly turn dark brown, making it impossible to separate under and overripe cherries. The cherries are turned frequently to avoid mold formation or over-fermentation, until they reach a moisture content of below 20%, and the outer cherry layer shrinks and blackens. This process takes between 2 and 4 weeks, depending on weather conditions.


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152 2nd Ave

10003 New York

United States

Opening Hours:

Mon - Fri: 7:00 - 18:00

Sat - Sun: 8:00 - 18:00

284 Lafayette St

10012 New York

United States

Opening Hours:

Mon - Fri: 7:00 - 18:00

Sat - Sun: 8:00 - 18:00

Graven 20

8000 Aarhus C

Denmark

Opening Hours:

Mon - Sat: 8:00 - 18:00

Sun: 9:00 - 17:00

Borggade 4F

8000 Aarhus C

Denmark

Opening Hours:

Mon - Sun: 7:00 - 17:00

Møntergade 3A

1116 Copenhagen K

Denmark

Opening Hours:

Mon - Fri: 8:00 - 18:00

Sat - Sun: 9:00 - 17:00

Marguerite Vibys Plads 8

2000 Frederiksberg

Denmark

Opening Hours:

Mon - Fri: 8:00 - 17:00

Sat - Sun: Closed

813 Charoen Krung Rd, Talat Noi, Samphanthawong

10100 Bangkok

Thailand

Opening Hours:

Mon - Fri: 8:00 - 17:00

Sat - Sun: 8:00 - 17:00

304 Phahonyothin Road, Samsen Nai, Phaya Thai

10400 Bangkok

Thailand

Opening Hours:

Mon - Fri: 08:00 - 17:00

Sat - Sun: 08:00 - 17:00

Al Qurum Complex

113 Muscat

Oman

Opening Hours:

Mon - Sat: 07:00 - 21:00

Sun: Closed

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Marguerite Vibys Pl. 1

2000 Frederiksberg

Denmark

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Marguerite Vibys Pl. 1

2000 Frederiksberg

Denmark

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Marguerite Vibys Pl. 1

2000 Frederiksberg

Denmark

Have a question?

Please write us in the chat.

Marguerite Vibys Pl. 1

2000 Frederiksberg

Denmark

Have a question?

Please write us here