Ethiopian Coffee Farm | introduction of Layo Taraga Cooperative in GUJI producing area

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Ethiopian coffee is everything. They can be delicate, floral and tea-like. They are full of bright and soft acidity and a hint of fruit. This incredible diversity of flavors and features can be traced back to each different micro-region and how each coffee is processed after picking. Coffee thrives in the dense environment provided by Ethiopian forests. After all, this is where coffee was born.

Until recently coffee grown by smallholder farmers and cooperatives in Ethiopia had to be sold through ECX in which batches were classified by general region and quality (level 1-5). In March 2017, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia approved a reform that would allow co-owned washing treatment stations to export coffee directly, which would separate top coffee, raise prices for farmers and increase recognition of Ethiopia's best coffee. This enhanced traceability enables us to purchase directly from the same washing treatment station year by year and opens up the potential for partnerships with individual farmers or small groups in the community.

The Layo Taraga Cooperative is located in the Uraga district of Oromia in the Guji region and is located in one of the most important coffee growing areas in Ethiopia. The cooperative has about 500 members who grow shaded garden coffee on an area of about 1 hectare. The area is about 2200 masl above sea level, making it one of the highest coffee-growing areas in the country. It also benefits from fertile clay soil and annual rainfall of about 1500-2000 mm a year.

Layo Taraga is a member of the Oromia Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union (OCFCU), founded in 1999. As of 2014, OCFCU, one of the largest coffee unions in Ethiopia, was an umbrella organization of 240 cooperatives, representing about 250000 coffee farmers. As one of the union's precious cooperatives, Layo Teraga has received funding for improvements in recent years, including new McKinnon disc pulpers, tile fermentors and storage sheds at washing treatment stations.

During the harvest season, farmers send freshly picked cherries to the washing station, then sort them under ripe, ripe and ripe cherries, and then remove them. The coffee is then fermented under water for 8-12 hours, in which the remaining mucus is decomposed by bacteria. After that, the coffee is washed in the channel, soaked, and then placed on a raised bed to dry for 10-14 days until it reaches 11% moisture.

Location: Haro Wachu / Uraga / Guji

Variety: bourbon

Process: washing

Altitude: 1950-2000 m

Taste: peaches, persimmons, flowers

Qianjie coffee is recommended to be brewed with 90-02 degrees water, which has a good flower aroma, as well as the flavor of apricot and tropical fruit.