Description
Region: Yirgacheffe
Elevation: 1900 masl.
Arabica Varietal: Heirloom
Process: Supernatural
Lot: Hiwot
Farm: Koke
In the cup: Blueberry, Red Grape, Ginseng, Apricot, Red Plum, Tropical, Berry Jam, Peach, Passion Fruit, Creamy, Sweet.
When you visit a coffee farm, you expect to see lush coffee trees with a lot of leaves, all planted in neat rows for maximum efficiency, and well pruned for increased yields. But should you visit the forest in Koke, you might find your
jaw drop, just a little. The trees are lanky, they’re thin and have several trunks extending from the ground. They are not so much planted as much as they grow wherever they choose to spawn from the earth.
This was the visual definition of wild coffee: natural mutations of Arabica trees that speckle the wild forest that grows dense and overhead around the hills surrounding the washing stations. Red dirt roads lead the way to raised drying beds that sit where the land allows it to be flat, while the sun beams down across the low humid, dry air, infusing the flavours of the cherry into the green bean, creating what we inevitably know will be incredibly delicious tasting coffees. Coffee grown from unpruned, unplanted, wild varietal trees.
Processing Details
o Coffees grow in small-holder farmers’ backyards (known as ‘garden coffee’) in the Yirgacheffe region
o Cherries are harvested from October – January and taken to the washing station where small-holder lots are combined
o Coffee is hand sorted to remove under- and over-ripe cherries and select cherries between 18-22ºBrix
o Cherries are shade-dried on raised beds in thick piles and regularly turned over to control fermentation for the first 3-5 days
o Cherries are then thinned out during the day but piled up again inside plastic ‘cocoons’ at night for 5-8 days
o Finally, cherries are spread in thick layers on beds with frequent moving for 10-15 days until moisture reaches 10-12%
o Dried beans are then stored in the dried cherry pod for protection and to maximise sugar and fruit flavour absorption until milling and export preparation where further hand sorting and colour sorting is conducted to improve overall quality
o Hiwot is one of the key women working with Primrose Exporters
(Info courtesy of Project Origin)
Tim (verified owner) –
Both the Ethiopian Supernaturals are top notch, with ripe fruit, candy sweetness and an unmistakable complexity. Thanks for continuing to offer these special coffees.