Karmachi Gesha

Karmachi Gesha is a standout coffee from Ethiopia’s Bench Sheko zone, grown at altitudes above 2,000 metres. This lot is made up entirely of Gesha varietals, renowned for their delicate florals and vibrant acidity. Naturally processed, the coffee offers a refined cup profile with notes of jasmine, bergamot, stone fruit, and honey—hallmarks of high-elevation Ethiopian Gesha.

Bench Sheko, in south-western Ethiopia, is a lesser-known but rapidly emerging coffee-growing region. The area’s high altitude, rich biodiversity, and cooler climate create ideal conditions for cultivating heirloom and Gesha varietals. Most producers are smallholders who grow coffee alongside other subsistence crops, with harvesting and drying still largely done by hand using traditional methods.

While coffee has ancient roots in Ethiopia, the practice of cultivating it is relatively recent. If the legend of Kaldi and his goats holds any truth, he might have lived in the 8th or 9th century. By the late 9th century, it’s believed that coffee was already being grown in Ethiopia, though primarily as a food source, not as a drink. It wasn’t until much later that coffee became a major export, a shift driven more by the practice of gathering wild coffee than by structured agriculture. Even a century ago, coffee plantations were rare, mainly found in Harar, while in the southwest, coffee from the Kaffa region was still being foraged from the wild.