Ethiopia Oromo

Description

Among coffee-producing countries, Ethiopia holds near-legendary status not only because it’s the “birthplace” of Arabica coffee, but also because it is simply unlike every other place in the coffee world. Coffee is still commonly enjoyed as part of a “ceremonial” preparation, a way of gathering family, friends, and associates around a table for conversation and community. Natural processed coffees will have much more pronounced fruit and deep chocolate tones, often with a bit of a winey characteristic and a syrupy body.

Coffees in Ethiopia are typically traceable to the washing station level, where smallholder farmers—many of whom own less than 1/2 hectare of land, and as little as 1/8 hectare on average—deliver cherry by weight to receive payment at a market rate. The coffee is sorted and processed into lots without retaining information about whose coffee harvest is in which bag or which lot.

The Hafursa Haru washing station is located close to Yirgacheffe town, not far from the boundary with the Oromia zone. The area itself has a population of just over 195 thousand, of which only 8% are urban dwellers. There are 12 standardized fermentation tanks at the washing station, and over 169 drying beds. This allows for fast turnaround whilst keeping traceability of the lots, something that is becoming more and more a part of processing in Ethiopia as trade opens up.

The varieties themselves are often referred to as heirloom, though, having high genetic diversity means that what is heirloom in one area is not a guarantee of the same characteristics as an heirloom from another region. Kumie (kurume, kudhume) is often labelled as Yirgacheffe or Yirgacheffe type, and is quite a small bean, whilst Dega is more widely spread and Wolisho typical in the highlands.