Origin: Ethiopia
Farm/Region: SNNPR region
Tasting Notes: Dark winey Berries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Purple Grapes, Rich Dark Chocolate
Producer: Boji Kochere
Processing: Natural
Altitude: 2300 MASL
Boji is a washing station located in the Kochere woreda of the SNNPR region. It servwes around 500 smallholder producers. Kochere is a coffee-growing area close to the town of Yirgacheffe, home to some of the most-loved coffees in the world.
Natural processing at the station follows the traditional Ethiopian methods. First, cherry is floated and visually checked for underripes, overripes and damaged cherry. After washing cherry in clean water, workers transfer cherry straight to the drying field.
They spread the cherries in a single layer. During the first few days, cherry is carefully turned every 30 minutes to ensure evening drying. This is also when workers remove any damaged cherry. After a few days, cherry is adjusted so that it sits in a slightly thicker layer, which helps slow the drying process. Drying typically takes between 2 and 3 weeks.
Grades in Ethiopia depend on visual inspection for defects and on cup quality. Grade 1 is considered the highest quality coffee. Grade 1 and 2 are considered specialty coffee, grades 3-9 are classified as commercial coffee. Grade 1 is free of cup faults and taints and has zero quakers.
Coffee all started in Ethiopia in the 9th Century when the goat-herder Kaldi, noticed his goats acting more spritely after consuming cherries from a certain plant. Kaldi tried the cherries and noticed some of the familiar effects that we all feel when we enjoy some of the good drink in the morning. While this is a popular account of the ‘Discovery’ of coffee, there are other accounts of traders chewing cherries on trade routes from Ethiopia in order to increase energy. Ethiopia’s history is full of dramatic changes. Over the last four decades, the Ethiopian people have lived under three different forms of government, which include a semi-feudal imperial, a military rule with Marxist ideological orientation from 1974-1991, and a federal governance system from 1991 until the present. All of these periods have been accompanied by dissatisfaction, armed resistance and rebellions. Ethiopia has also confronted economic, social and environmental problems including a war with Eritrea from 1998-2000. This recent dispute with Eritrea as well other historical conflicts has provoked many damages, including lost lives, limited access to the land, emotional trauma, and extreme hunger.
Coffee still grows wild in Ethiopia’s mountain forests. Ethiopian farmers cultivate coffee in four different systems, which include forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, garden coffee and plantation coffee. About 98% of the coffee in Ethiopia is produced by peasants on small farms and it is the country’s most important export. Ethiopia is Africa’s third largest coffee producer. There are about 700,000 coffee smallholders in Ethiopia, of which 54 percent are in semi forest areas. Coffee has been part of their indigenous cultural traditions for more than 10 generations.
Coffee is traded on the Ethiopian Commodities exchange (ECX) which unique to many other countries sets its own prices. Ethiopia Produced 7.1 Million Bags of Coffee in 2017-2018. Most Ethiopian Coffee goes to Germany and Saudi Arabia (about 20% Each) while Australia takes 2%. While most coffee does go through the ECX, reforms recently passed by the government have allowed larger farms and co-ops to market and sell their coffees directly to consumers, resulting in increased traceability and fairer pricing