Origin: Ethiopia
Region: Yirgacheffe
Sub region: Gedeo
Village: Konga Wete
Altitude: 1999 meters above sea level
Variety: Ethiopian Landraces
Process: Natural Uncertified Organic
Tasting Notes: Juicy and sweet with notes of black cherry, red currant and cocoa nib.
Literally translated as “Land of Many Springs,” Yirgacheffe boasts ideal topography, elevation and water sources for cultivating coffee. In the Gedeo region, the village of Konga Wete is home to over 1890 farmers who cultivate coffee in their backyards. Coffee grown in Ethiopia is naturally organic, as landrace varieties harmonise with the environment, providing organic fertiliser and natural pest control.
This particular variety is famous for its small bean size. Luckily, in this case, good things come in small packages! Elevated acidity and dense complex fruits are well-known attributes of the variety and growing altitude that should be embraced and not feared!
The harvest is taken to the Amederaro Konga washing station by the Toracho River, about 6 km from Yirgacheffe town. Established in 2018, this 2.5-hectare station uses various processing methods, with 190 shaded drying beds and 10 fermentation tanks for experimental processing.
The hand-picked cherries are floated before being transferred to African drying beds for 19 to 21 days of drying and natural fermentation, depending on the weather. Continuous hand-picking and rotation ensure quality and uniformity, while supervisors use moisture measurement tools and other equipment to control the process for optimal results.
Once the coffee's moisture content reaches 10 to 12%, it is moved to a warehouse in Addis Ababa. The cleaning process starts with pre-cleaning to remove foreign materials, followed by hulling and polishing to remove the parchment and silver skin. The coffee is then sorted by screen size and density, with defects separated using colour sorters before being bagged in Grainpro for export.
The washing station was honoured with the 2018 and 2019 African Fine Coffees Association’s Taste of Harvest award and placed 7th in the inaugural Ethiopia Cup of Excellence. It also invests in social initiatives, such as building schools and providing educational materials for local children.
This coffee is sourced from our partner, Primrose Coffee, a vertically integrated company with 20 years of experience in Ethiopian green coffee exports and a proud member of the Ethiopian Chapter of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance.
