reasoning impact

Limmu Kossa has been a coffee-growing area for centuries, and it's not surprising to know that most villagers live from coffee here. In fact, 60% of Ethiopian coffee production comes from this region; almost every farmer owns between two to three hectares of land. However, because Ethiopian coffee is also considered one of the best in the world (if not the best), standardising quality has long been a challenge. 

When Gidhe started working in this region and talking to farmers, he quickly noticed that this region needed more than anything to standardise its processes to gain a steady quality.
Located at an altitude between 1840 and 2,130, at Galeh, cherries ripen slowly and under the shade of the ancient trees. As it has so many different microclimates, we decided to experiment with three microzone lots (Betella, Suki, and Sinsino) to see if we could isolate flavour differences. The cultivars planted in these microzones also vary: the agronomy team adapted them to the different shade, humidity and soil conditions. 

Within the boundaries of Galeh lies Sultan Bawari's land, whom we met in 2018 as a neighbour and a close friend of Gidhe. Thanks to Gide's assistance, Bawari has steadily improved his quality since we first launched his micro lot in 2019. We are curious to know what the other farmers, neighbours of Gide, are up to in the near future since we know Gide has been continuously working with quite a few. We are positive this growth will continue benefiting the community and the region as it has done so far. 

CULTIVARS:

Local varieties selected on productivity, strength, and micro-region fit, called: 74165, 75227, 74140, 74110, 74112, and 5227. Limu Kossa is located in the highlands where the coffee arabica species evolved.

ALTITUDE:

Sinsino: 2070 meters above sea level.

Suki: 1834 meters above sea level.

Betella: 1835 meters above sea level.

NOTABLE:

Galeh has so many different microclimates we decided to experiment with three microzone lots (Betella, Suki and Sinsino) to see if we can isolate flavour differences. The cultivars planted in these microzones vary as well: the agronomy team adapted them to the different shade, humidity and soil conditions. Added to this, Gideh’s neighbor Sultan Bawari, is also exporting through us, becoming the first of (we hope) many farmers in the Limmu Kossa region to export their coffee independently.

PROCESSING:

Cherries are hand-picked by seasonal pickers on the estate. On delivery, all cherries are pre-screened by controllers, after which lots are separated into the washed lots (early and midseason) and naturals (late season).

Fully washed: hand-picked, pre-sorted, floated, pulped, wet fermented for 12 hours, soaked and washed, dried on raised beds, and dry-milled all under the supervision of the farm owner, Giday.

Natural: fully ripe cherries are spread evenly on raised beds and turned every hour to prevent moulding, especially in the first few days. Sun-dried for at least 12 days.