Ethiopia - Yirgacheffe Konga Organic, Natural

About This Coffee

This organic coffee comes from Ethiopia, Yirgacheffe, the region of Woreda Zone, Gedeo. The Konga cooperative is one in a network of cooperatives in the Yirgacheffe region belonging to the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). Its 2,400 smallholder members distinguish themselves with their impeccable attention to detail in processing and growing coffee at an altitude of 1900-2300 masl. Ethiopian heirloom varietals are chosen from the forest and transplanted to small gardens, adding a layer of selection to the incredible complexity available among wild coffee plants. Farmers hand-sort for unripe and overripe cherries. Coffee is pulped with a 5-disc Agaarde pulper and wet fermented for 24 to 36 hours. After sorting based on density, the fermented coffee is washed in clean water before being dried for one to two weeks on cloth drying beds. Workers cover the coffee with plastic at midday and at night. Once dried, the coffee is screened 14 and up.

Tasting Notes

Bergamot, stonefruit and jasmine.

Growing Coffee in Ethiopia, Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe is actually a part of the Sidamo region in Southern Ethiopia. The area has become famous for producing exquisite washed coffees so much so that it has been sub-divided into it’s own micro region. Most of the coffee producing land is steep, lush green and very fertile and it has some of the oldest plant stock in the world growing at an altitude of over 2000 meters above sea level. There are 650 farmers here with approximately 2 hectares each growing only the indigenous ‘heirloom’ varietals which grow wild in Ethiopia and are responsible for the unique flavour notes which make for a richly fruity and refined cup. As part of the Konga cooperative’s mission to give back to its community, it recently renovated buildings at a primary school and outfitted it with new supplies.