Why Gesha Smells Better Than It Tastes

In this episode, I dive deep into the world of Gesha coffee—one of the most expensive and hyped coffee varietals in specialty coffee. I'm drinking a Nicaragua Gesha that's almost four weeks off roast, and I'm getting real about what I actually experience versus what the marketing promises. I talk about how Gesha has this incredible aroma—floral, fruity, and so intense that you almost forget what you're drinking—but when it comes to the actual taste, it often falls flat for me. I explore why we pay two to three times more for these coffees and whether they're actually worth it, comparing Gesha to saffron in terms of difficulty to grow and the marketing mystique surrounding both.

Throughout this episode, you'll learn about the honest realities of drinking expensive specialty coffee, how to think critically about coffee marketing and hype, and why it's perfectly okay if your palate doesn't align with what "experts" tell you should taste amazing. I also discuss different roasting profiles I plan to try with this Gesha and how processing, altitude, and varietal all play into what ends up in your cup. Whether you're a coffee enthusiast wondering if Gesha is worth the investment or someone who wants to understand the psychology behind premium coffee, this episode will give you a candid perspective you won't find in typical coffee reviews.

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:13 Nicaragua Gesha: First Impressions
• 2:34 The Flat Reality of Gesha
• 4:09 Is Gesha Worth 2-3x the Price?
• 5:53 The Comparison Game in Coffee
• 7:28 When You Wonder If You've Been Bamboozled
• 9:17 Gesha as the Saffron of Coffee
• 11:44 Marketing Magic vs Reality

Transcript

[00:00:03] We can't smell this, but it smells lovely. Gesha, Gesha, Gesha.

[00:00:16] I don't know what it is about Gesha that people love and adore, but it's just another coffee that smells better than it tastes. You can't beat the smell of Gesha—floral, fruity. They have that unique characteristic of something so intense in your nose that you almost forget what you're drinking.

[00:00:49] I don't think we talk about that enough. Does that make any sense? Anybody want to know? Two minutes and 15 seconds.

[00:00:59] This right here is a Nicaragua Gesha. I got a lot of coffee recently, and it's almost four weeks off roast. I'm drinking it. This is actually my second time drinking this particular Gesha, and it's like all the other ones, at least to me. I've tasted so many different types of Gesha that, for the most part, they're flat. It doesn't represent the same as when you smell it.

[00:01:44] I would say that's a problem, but in truth, it is what it is. I'm just being honest about the likeness of it that I don't have. So let's take our first sip.

[00:02:02] If you have to put coffee side by side and drink them objectively, when you pick out that this is Gesha, this is revolutionary, this is something that you will want to drink—I think for most of us, no. I'm not saying that it's that unique to where you can decipher exactly if this is a Gesha or not. But I guess what I'm saying here is that coffee, and I know it sounds messed up just saying it, it's just coffee.

[00:02:42] We love and adore coffee, but at the end of the day, it's coffee. Is it different and unique enough for you to spend sometimes two times, three times the amount of money that you're going to be spending on it? I don't think so. I have never really thought that way. I bought it anyway just because I wanted to see what it was all about.

[00:03:10] The beauty about the situation that I'm in is that I have plenty of roasters to roast a coffee. I can roast it different profiles. I can do a light roast profile, I can do a fast, I can do a slow roast, I can do a medium roast coffee, which I will do eventually, and a dark roast. Those are the things that I can do in order to represent this coffee the best that I can.

[00:03:41] Don't get me wrong, I have gotten Gesha that I didn't roast, still felt the same, and I thought that this particular Gesha was going to be a little bit different. But in truth, it's more so the same. It's just like a batch that you have on, and you don't have to actually live up to that hype as long as it smells right, has the floral notes, it has some type of fruity acidity on it, but not too offensive, which this one is.

[00:04:38] Is it clean? Yeah, it's very clean. I know last time when I tasted it, I tasted it when it was hot, and then it got better when it cooled down. It kind of had a little bit more character, personality as the coffee cooled down. It was just something that I wanted and needed to really try to understand more. As you ask people and contemplate what they're saying, I just can't help but isolate—I cannot isolate this particular type of varietal.

[00:05:28] You can't isolate Gesha. You can't isolate majority of coffees because it's always a comparison game. There's always something that we're doing in order to see if something is better than the next thing or a variation of whatever that may be. Then we finally make our conclusions of if we like it, if we don't like it. There's always going to be comparison in coffee.

[00:05:53] You always think about how this coffee is representing your excitement in that morning, in that evening, with friends and family. You're always thinking about how this coffee is going to do or be for you while you're drinking it and trying to understand it and enjoy it.

[00:06:20] But I'll tell you the truth: you're thinking about Gesha all the time, especially when you're drinking, especially when you pay two to three times the amount of money. Then you're wondering, have you been bamboozled? When you drink and sip, and then when you go to another coffee that you're used to or accustomed to, you're like, "I think I like this one better."

[00:06:45] But then you're like, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I don't know if I like it better because this one's so much more money. I'm getting misty-eyed because I'm thinking that I'm supposed to be drinking something revolutionary. And if I don't understand it right now, then there's a problem with me." There's no problem with you.

[00:07:17] Like what you like. If you like Gesha, it's your jam. Let it be. Let it be what it is. But as it's present form, yes, this is on the verge of a medium-light roast, but this is probably where you really want it, I guess. And all it's doing for me is frustrating me.

[00:07:46] This is just me being real with you about this coffee. I'm not trying to take anything away from the farmers who produced it and how they house a finicky bean, as they say. And yes, different profiles, different roles, you've got to do this, you've got to do that, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It is what it is. There's only so many profiles that you can do in order to bring out the essence of the coffee.

[00:08:09] If it tastes the way it tastes, it tastes the way it tastes. And if you like the way it tastes, then that's the only thing that matters. If you don't like the way it tastes, that's perfectly fine too.

[00:08:13] But something about the smell—when you really think about it, most coffees do smell lovely, especially after they're roasted, after a couple days. It's just vibrant, it's just loud, and it's just something that you gravitate to. Some coffees represent the smell a lot better compared to others.

[00:08:48] This particular coffee, the way it is, is high without even putting it in your mouth. All these for me—again, I'm talking about me. You may think it just keeps going, it gets better, it's more tea-like, it's more expressive. It talks, it sings, it just wakes you up, it gives you a different perspective about what coffee is. If that's you, great.

[00:09:17] But it's interesting now just thinking about this whole Gesha thing and how the marketing is what it is. You have Gesha back to back from saffron compared to not. And the lure of it is the processing, how hard it is. And then at times when you think about Gesha, it's kind of almost on the same level as saffron, meaning that it's a harder bean to grow. It doesn't yield as much. It has to be very high altitude.

[00:10:29] But then when you get it right, you process it, after you process it, and then you get this thing that just seems a little bit different. You get this aroma that just comes rushing into your mouth. And then there's marketing behind it telling you it's magical, it's great, it does all these wonderful things for you. Look, your cancer—it'll make you feel like a better person. It'll do all these things for you.

[00:11:24] And then when you actually sip it and drink it, you're wondering if you've been duped. You're wondering if you were missing something. You're wondering if your palate is as mature as somebody else who's telling you all these nice flowery, tasty notes and things that are amazing and great.

[00:11:54] And it's okay if you are at the level that you're at with this coffee thing. And if it's not better with all the other stuff that you have, that's perfectly fine. And if you just want to taste it again just to see how cool and magical it is, do that.

[00:12:45] At the end of the day, it's just coffee. This is just coffee. This is just something that we're drinking. And we put so many different labels and titles and expectations around coffee, which is perfectly fine. I do it all the time. But at the end of the day, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, and that's perfectly fine.

[00:13:29] So Gesha—I don't really care for them. They are what they are. They're not exciting. I am going to roast it differently, probably a little bit more developed. I know people may hate when I say more developed. It may shine as a dark roast. It may be just right as a medium roast. But it doesn't really matter for me, for the most part, with Gesha.