Release #1: Gori Gesha Forest 2016 from Gesha Village Coffee Estate

In November 2015, when Passenger was still quite a young roasting company, our green buying team traveled to Western Ethiopia to learn more about an exciting new project. The Gesha Village Coffee Estate, owned and operated by Adam Overton and Rachel Samuel, and now widely recognized as the source of some of the most sought-after coffees in the world, was also at an early stage of its journey in 2015. Passenger was one of the first roasting companies to highlight their coffees and has continued a strong relationship throughout the years.

This archival release, from the 2016-2017 Gesha Village harvest, features an Ethiopian heirloom gesha variety planted from wild seeds that were collected from the Gori Gesha Forest not far from the Gesha Village Estate. Passenger purchased both a wet processed and a dry processed Gori Gesha selection from the 2016 harvest. For this inaugural Freezer Friday, we are releasing 9 individually numbered bags (200 grams each) of each process. 

Tasting the 2016 ‘vintage’ four years later showcases the elegant, nuanced flavor profiles - resulting from extraordinary plant genetics, incredibly meticulous cherry selection, and immaculate processing - that have become hallmarks of the Gesha Village Coffee Estate. The Gori Gesha Wet Process is refreshingly delicate with notes of orange blossom, citrus, and black tea. The Dry Process, offering sweet, juicy notes of fresh strawberries, peaches, and a refreshing floral quality, exhibits a clarity and complexity of flavor that incredibly few dry processed coffees achieve.