Origin: Ethiopia Region: Yirgacheffe Sub region: Worka Village, Gedeb Farm: Mr. Bekele Gemeda - Single Estate Program Altitude: 1780 - 2100 meters above sea level Variety: Heirloom Process: Washed Tasting Notes: Juicy, delicate and sweet with notes of peach, apricot and white grape. The process of producing Washed coffees in Ethiopia will vary slightly from washing station to washing station, but generally speaking the coffee is picked ripe and depulped the same day. There is usually a fermentation period of 8–12 hours in open-air tanks, then washed in water channels to remove the mucilage. The coffee seeds will be spread on raised beds to dry for 5–15 days, depending on the weather. This single producer lot comes from Mr. Bekele Gemeda in the Worka village in Yirgacheffe. Mr Bekele Gemeda is a resident of small village called Worka 13 kms from Gedeb town. He owns 6.5 hectares of coffee farm in one place and another 3 hectares in another place within the same village. He works full time in his farm assisted by his able children who completed their primary education but couldn’t find another job in towns. Mr Bekele, who is the father of 11 children, fully relied on the income he generated from his coffee farm. The coffee farm business also supports his two elder married sons who also work together with him. Mr Bekele Gemeda was incredibly grateful to see the care he has put into his coffee showed well enough in the cup to have his coffee kept separate, something that is rare in Ethiopia. The Single Farmer Project is the result of an effort to support Ethiopian producers with a marketplace for farm-traceable coffees. Back in 2012, during a turbulent time in Ethiopia's coffee exporting history, Partner and CEO Jason Long worked with an established cooperative to export some of the first ever truly “Farm Traceable” lots from Ethiopia. This was the first time a roaster could highlight the individual farmer for their Ethiopian Coffee. It was the start of an incredible project and truly began the movement for traceability in Ethiopia as we see more often today. This project also gave us some very fun stories like literally bringing a backpack full of Ethiopian Birr to Yirgacheffe with COO Noah Namowicz to pay the premiums directly to these farmers who participated. This project is made possible in conjunction with important export partners supporting and bringing to market individual farmer lots. Samples are sent out to potential buyers, price is negotiated on the farmers' behalf, and contracts are only accepted when the producer agrees on a sales price and their name is on the contract for each coffee they sell. “Our goals with this project would be to help garner and develop long-term relationships between the producers we are already working with and coffee roasting companies that share in the values of transparency, traceability, and relationship that this program represents," says Claudia, green-coffee buyer for Cafe Imports.
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