FAKE GEISHA — Challenging the Cult of Purity

A collaboration between Apt.Cafe and the coffee research NGO, Advance.Coffee.


Lot 001

The lab confirmed what our senses already suspected:

“This sample has a genetic background of an Ethiopian landrace. Some alleles are common with Geisha. It might derive from original Geisha after some controlled or uncontrolled cross-pollination.”

Not pure Geisha — just a little too Ethiopian, a little too untamed in its lineage.

And maybe all the better for it.

There is such richness in Ethiopian profiles still to be explored; Geisha is only one among many.

Advance.Coffee has been conducting genetic analyses on numerous samples labeled as Geisha — and only about one-third match the genetic profile of “pure” Geisha.

Nature, it turns out, is never truly pure. Cross-pollination is the rule, not the exception.

Some results even found famous “Geishas” that proved to be Sarchimors wearing borrowed names — hybrids, infusions, or wishful thinking.

Fake Geisha isn’t part of that deception.

This lot is a cross-pollination between Geisha and other Ethiopian genetics — not pure, but proof that purity was never the point.

A clean, washed expression of extraordinary quality.

Evidence that what defines great coffee isn’t purity, but expression.

We roast these beautiful accidents — coffees that may not pass the Geisha DNA test but excel in the cup.

The Fake Geisha Series celebrates these outliers: coffees that fall outside the purity line yet reveal vibrant, floral, and juicy profiles.

Through them, we explore the untapped florality hidden across Arabica’s genetic landscape — proof that what matters isn’t purity, but expression.

Beyond Geisha, we’re studying and planting a range of Ethiopian-derived varieties that show exceptional cup quality and floral character — a broader project we call Geshiopia.

Because the goal isn’t purity — it’s potential.

There is still much to discover — new floral Arabicas to identify, and perhaps new varieties to develop.

Fake Geisha