Tasting Notes
Tropical Fruit
Blackberry
Rose
Processing:
Washed
Variety:
Indigenous heirloom
Altitude:
2000-2200m
Description
Fresh Ethiopian coffees just keep landing! Last time we introduced you to the Nano Challa – a bright, floral, citric delight from Jimma. This time, we’re headed southeast to the forests of Guji. Generally, the flavour profiles here are bigger and louder. Less delicate florals, more textured tropical fruits. This washed lot from the Gogogu Bekaka station jumped out at us on the cupping table, so much so that we suspected it might be a natural. Sweet, juicy tropicals that remind us of mango and papaya, lead into a creamy berry finish making us think of blueberries and whipped cream. There’s still some herbal/floral aromas in there, taking our palates to rosewater and fresh cut flowers. All in all, this coffee is a trip. So unique, so complex, so layered.
The Gogogu Bekaka station (and it’s sister station, Gogogu Wate) are owned and operated by Kedir Jebril Imamu. Kedir worked odd jobs around Dilla for years, mainly in construction, until he saved enough money to start a coffee transportation company – trucking coffee from the coffee forests of Guji into the major trading hubs in the cities. 11 years ago he built his first station, Bekaka, and then 2 years added Wate onto his roster. He sources coffee from surrounding farmers who grow in the famous forests of Uraga, Guji. Kedir pays 25-29 birr (local currency) per kilo of coffee, as compared to the local market price of 14-20 birr per kilo. He then processes his coffee a bit differently. Stations typically ferment freshly peeled seeds for 48 hours, whereas Kedir ferments them for 60 hours. The extra fermentation might contribute to the deeper, complex profile of Gogogu’s coffees. Kedir’s stations are vertically integrated – meaning he controls purchase of cherries, processing, packaging, transportation, storage, and final export of the coffee. This model has increased the financial viability of coffee in the region, since the cost savings allow Kedir to pay higher prices for cherry.
We sourced this coffee from the legends at Red Fox Coffee Imports. Their connections in the region run deep, and we’re lucky to be reaping the benefit of decades and decades of work they’ve put in to differentiating and accessing these incredible coffees.