Ethiopia Guji Masina G1 Natural (Green)

Description

Region: Adola

Elevation: 1950-2300 masl.

Arabica Varietal: Heirloom

Process: Natural

Farm: Guji Masina Washing Station

In the cup: Blood Orange, Lime, Grape, Raisin, Green Apple, Jack Fruit, Berry, Bright

In the Masina Kebele in the Adola Woreda lies a washing station that sits at the heart of Project Origin. Built in 2017 as a joint project with our great local export partners, Primrose, the Guji Masina washing station was the site where our very first Ethiopian Carbonic Maceration processed coffees were produced. We learned a vast amount from the experience of trying and refining the CM process at this station.

Nearby the washing station lies a river, that locals in the community wade through to reach the town and the school. Project Origin have teamed up with Primrose once again to fund the construction of a bridge over this beautiful river, hoping that this improvement in infrastructure will help the community in their daily travels and needs rather than taking the 1-2 hour walk around to the nearest crossing.

The coffees from this woreda are already world-known, feeding into the romanticism of Ethiopian coffees, and when the 2018 World Barista Championship is won utilising a coffee from this station, it becomes impossible not to include this washing station in your collection.

Processing Details
o Coffees grow in small-holder farmers’ backyards (known as ‘garden coffee’) in the Masina 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 18-22o Brix
o Cherries are dried on raised beds in full sun to allow the beans to absorb the sweetness and fruitiness from the cherry pulp and skin
o During drying cherries are regularly turned to ensure even drying and maintain clarity. On very hot days cherries are covered in plastic to control drying rate
o Cherries remain on raised beds and are frequently turned for 18-30 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
o Our local partners do further quality control and sorting during milling. As a minimum they do a triple-pass through a colour sorter and a triple-pass through hand-sorting tables to improve overall quality

(Info courtesy of Project Origin)