A duo of coffees to introduce here for you.

Malawi Viphya Geisha

Grown in the Viphya North Hills on the grassland plateau overlooking Lake Malawi, this micro lot is of the Geisha vareital. Geisha is an ancient and very rare coffee variety that has gianed a lot of favour of late. The agronomic yield of Geisha is extremely low, which is why it is so difficult to find commercial plantations of this variety. One of the reasons for its new found popularity is an auction lot that fetched a huge premium, in fact it was the most expenisive coffee ever, which in some areas led to a huge rush to rip out perfectly good plant stock and replace it with a varietal that tends only to work at a higher altitude and in perfect growing conditions.

To find out more about Geisha read here or here but it is enough to say the varietal is very controversial.

This is from the same folks as the Msesse that we are stocking, but it originates from a larger co-op. It is still Geisha and still great cup, it is just a slightly larger lot. This has a similar profile to the Msesse, but with with very small differences.

In the cup there is a peach/lemon and summer fruit acidity just like its sibling, the Msesse, but maybe it is a little less defined here. Then you get a milky/silky smooth body and delicious finish. I think out of the two that we have stocked this will work much better in espresso becuase it’s a little less bright and not as in your face clean as the Msesse. Both are delicious, but for different reasons.

You can buy this here

Malawi Mzimba Geisha

Grown in the Viphya North Hills on the grassland plateau overlooking Lake Malawi, this micro lot is of the Geisha vareital. Geisha is an ancient and very rare coffee variety that has gianed a lot of favour of late. The agronomic yield of Geisha is extremely low, which is why it is so difficult to find commercial plantations of this variety. One of the reasons for its new found popularity is an auction lot that fetched a huge premium, in fact it was the most expenisive coffee ever, which in some areas led to a huge rush to rip out perfectly good plant stock and replace it with a varietal that tends only to work at a higher altitude and in perfect growing conditions.

To find out more about Geisha read here or here but it is enough to say the varietal is very controversial.

The good news about the Mzimba Geisha Micro Lot is that it has been growing in this location for a very long time at an altitude of 1600m above sea level upwards, and it’s great tasting.This coffee is so simular to the Mssese I have tried to find out more about why it is so close and if its a co op name change.

In the cup expect the super creamy mouthfeel and clarity that you would expect from a great washed African coffee. This is then backed up by a delicous tropical fruit that zaps your mouth with pineapple, apricot and all sorts of summer fruits. Great mouthfeel. Like last year these coffees have great flavours, add to this a great price. It’s just great coffee.

You can buy it here