Ethiopia Konga GR1 (250g)
Richly sweet and floral. Orange, Jasmine, black tea bergamot, hint of jasmine in aroma and cup. Sweet-tart structure with gentle, round acidity. Full , syrupy mouthfeel. Cacao characterizes the resonant finish.
STATION: KONGA
This exceptional washed coffee was grown by smallholder farmers living around the kebele (town) of Konga in Yirgacheffee, SNNPR Region. The washing station (Konga Wote) is partly owned by Mr Beyene Eshete.
Farmers in the region are susceptible to a number of challenges, namely; an ageing generation of coffee trees, negative effects of climate change and fluctuations in the coffee market price. Climate change, in particular, is having difficult repercussions, as fluctuating season’s effects harvesting, as well as unexpected rains, increasing the length of the drying process. Fortunately, local initiatives are attempting to combat these problems. Working with agricultural development agents, farmers in the region are finding new support to help combat climate change as well as plant new coffee trees, helping to improve the sustainable production of coffee in the area.
Most contributing farmers own less than a hectare of land, and they grow coffee simply as a backyard cash crop. Coffee will usually be interspersed with other subsistence crops, such as; sweet potato, mangos and avocados, but there are no other primary cash crops grown in the region.
Yirgacheffe is a coffee region in southern Ethiopia that produces distinctive coffees from traditional varieties of Arabica long grown in the region. This is a “natural” or dry-processed version, meaning the beans were dried inside the fruit, encouraging a flavor profile that is less predictable and deeper than the more familiar wet-processed floral- and citrus-toned Yirgacheffe profile
This coffee arrived to us via Priprose Company. Primrose Service Provider P.L.C is a private Green Coffee Exporting company in Ethiopia, founded in 2010 and it is one of highly competitive and respected coffee exporter in Ethiopian. The company is being run and staffed with qualified and experienced experts and employees in area of coffee industry.
About Konga
PRODUCER:Small Holders
TERROIR:Yirgacheffe
ALTITUDE:2000-2200 m
PROCESS:Washed
ARRIVED IN:60kg bags
VARIETIES:Heirloom
AROMA:Orange, Jasmine, Black tea
FLAVOR:Pergamot, Peach
BODY:Round
FINISH:White grapes, cacao
Yirgacheffe is actually part of the Gedeo Zone, Southern Nations region, in southern Ethiopia, but its exquisite, washed coffees are so well-known that is has been sub-divided into its own micro-region. This steep, green area is both fertile and high – much of the coffee grows at 2,000m and above.
At first glance, Yirgacheffe’s hills look thickly forested - but in fact, it is a heavily populated region, and the hills are dotted with many dwellings and villages’ growing what is known as ‘garden coffee’. There are approximately 26 cooperatives in the region, representing some 43,794 farmers and around 62,004 hectares of garden coffee. The production is predominantly washed, although a smaller number of sundried coffees also come out of Yirgacheffe.
Around 85 percent of Ethiopians still live rurally and make a living from agriculture; each family usually lives in a modest home (often a single round mud hut) and farms their own plot of land, where they grow both cash crops and food for their own consumption. In Yirgacheffe, coffee is one of the main cash crops – covering from half a hectare to 1.5 hectares (the latter is considered big). This is usually planted alongside a second cash crop – often a large-leafed tree used in making roofs for (and also shade provider for the coffee) known as 'false banana'. This looks like a banana tree but isn't - instead its thick stem is used to produce both a nutritious flour and a fermented paste that are staple ingredients (particularly across southern Ethiopia).
There is only one main harvest a year in Ethiopia - this usually takes place in November and December across all of the country's growing regions. There are, on average, 4 passes made during the harvest period, and, in regions that produce both washed and naturals, the last pass is used for the natural coffee. Washed coffees are then generally pulped on the same day that they are picked (usually in the evening/night), sorted into three grades by weight (heavy, medium and floaters), fermented (times vary - usually between 16 and 48 hours), washed and then usually graded again in the washing channels. The beans are then dried on African beds, where they are hand-sorted, usually by women.
