Description
Shanta Golba is a washing station in the Bensa region of Sidama Ethiopia, closeby to Daye Bensa Village. Coffee here is harvested November through January. Over 1200 small-holder farmers deliver coffee to this washing station. In addition to coffee, most farmers also grow Enset, Banana, Organges, and have various other indigenous natural shade trees covering the property.
Shanta Golba uses strict ripe cherry specifications and typically only uses the middle to end of harvest for the highest grades as these are typically the highest elevation coffees. Coffee usually dries for roughly 18 days here due to the use of natural shade trees over the raised beds.
Coffees in Ethiopia are typically grown on very small plots of land by farmers who also grow other crops. The majority of smallholders will deliver their coffee in cherry to a nearby washing station or central processing unit, where their coffee will be sorted, weighed, and paid for or given a receipt. Coffee is then processed, usually washed or natural, by the washing station and dried on raised beds.
The washing stations serve as many as several hundred to sometimes a thousand or more producers, who deliver cherry throughout the harvest season: The blending of these cherries into day lots makes it virtually impossible under normal circumstances to know precisely whose coffee winds up in which bags on what day, making traceability to the producer difficult. We do, however, make every available effort to source coffee from the same washing stations every year, through our export partners and their connections with mills and washing stations.
Typically farmers in this region don’t have access to and therefore do not utilize fertilizers or pesticides in the production of coffee.
Tasting Notes: Crisp, clean and sweet; this super fresh Ethiopian cup is a bit punchier. A bit of raised acidity and stronger tastes. Light to medium roasting recommended but a tasty cup from light to dark. Lighter roasts will have some decent brightness, lemony with just a pinch of peachy like fruitiness. The aromatics are wonderful, floral with some awesome hints of classic Ethiopian jasmine. The lighter tones pull some balance with the classic tea (herbal/spice) like darker tones. Medium roasts really mellow out the acidity and reduce the citric & floral tastes, creates a bit more body and a much more recognizable chocolaty factor. A very smooth, balanced and rich cup with exotic highlights. Darker roasts are fuller bodied and dark toned: roasty, bakers chocolate with some unique spice and rich aromatics.
Roasting Notes: Easy cup to roast, make sure you get some development past first crack, can risk a little grassy at super light roasts. Great from a medium roast to as dark as you want to go. Medium chaff, shouldn’t cause any issues. A slower roast helps mute some acidity and bring the lovely complex dark tone to the foreground.
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