Temporary update: Tins are currently out of stock. 250g options are currently being packed in RecycleMe bags.
Origin: Ethiopia
Region: Konga, Yirgacheffe
Tasting Notes: Bergamot, pear and honeycomb
Producer: 800 smallholder farmers organised around Mekuria Mergia
Varietal: Heirloom
Processing: Washed
Altitude: 1,800 – 2,100 MASL
Roast Level: Medium
Recipe: 20.5g in / 46g out / 26-30 seconds / 92c water
Gedeo Zone, Konga Washing Station | Privately owned washing station | 800 smallholder farmers organised around Mekuria Mergia | Each farmer cultivates local heirloom varieties on an average of 1ha of land.
The Coffee: Smallholder farmers deliver small amounts of harvested cherries daily to the communal washing station. Each farmer grows local heirloom varieties on farms of around 1ha, with many farmers originally transferring the local wild coffee to their family smallholder plots. Most coffees are organic by default as organic compost is common, pruning is less common. A farmer can typically have less than 1500 trees per hectare, with 1 tree typically producing less than 200 grams of green coffee.
The Art of Production: Farmers deliver ripe cherries to the Konga mill (washing station) which is owned and operated by Mekuria Mergia. Ripe cherries are carefully sorted and pulped. After pulping, the beans are fermented for 36 to 48 hours and then washed. The wet beans in parchment are placed on raised drying beds in thin layers and turned every 2 to 3 hours during the first few days of the drying process. Depending on weather, the beans are dried for 10 to 12 days until the moisture in the coffee beans is reduced to 11.5 percent. Then the beans are transported to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to be milled and bagged prior to export.