Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Washed – Gedeb Worka – Daniel Mijane Gr. 1

Description

Recent changes in the Ethiopian export rules have opened new opportunities to develop relationships with vertically integrated suppliers. Mijane Woresa, who has worked in coffee for more than 30 years, recently seized on the opportunity and establish an export company along with his sons, which allows them to directly offer lots from their two washing stations, Halo Hartume and Worka-Sakaro, located within the Gedeb district.

Tasting Notes: This Ethiopian cup is a bit more delicate and complex than your average Ethiopian. Light & medium roasts are where this cup will shine.

Decent brightness, stronger lemony/floral tone, some soft fruit accents down the peach and grapefruit alley. Stellar aromatics, jasmine & lavender with a little spice note, I love grinding awesome Ethiopians.  The lighter tones pull some balance with  spice/tea chocolate undertones, traditional for a bean from the Yirgacheffe region.

Medium roasts really mellow out the acidity and reduce the fruit tone, create a bit more body and a much more recognizable chocolaty factor. A very smooth, balanced and rich cup with exotic highlights. Darker roast burn out all the fruity and acidic notes, gets a little smoky roasty with strong bakers chocolate, unique aromatics but much more plain tasting cup.

Roasting Notes: Easy to roast and shines at the lighter roast points. Good to get a little past first crack but will dull in its tastes if you get it too dark or too close to 2nd crack. Even roasting with medium to low chaff. A longer setup time will promote a greater depth of flavor but will taste real good the next morning after roasting.

Worka Sakaro is a small municipality located on the eastern edge of the Gedeb district, part of the highly-coveted Gedeo Zone, a narrow section of plateau dense with savvy farmers whose coffee is known as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous district. Worka Sakaro’s contributing farmers number 410, and farm sizes range from 1 to 10 hectares. The Mijane family’s involvement with farmers begins long before harvest in the form of harvest trainings and the establishment of seasonal cherry collection sites—local delivery points that reduce overland travel for farmers and provide a quality inspection point for the washing station. During harvest season, bulk deliveries come in from the collection sites around 6pm, where Worka Sakaro staff conducts a final inspection for uniform ripeness, foreign matter, and overall quality, before admitting cherry to the evening’s processing. After depulping, coffee typically ferments for 48 hours, is rinsed, and then skin-dried in the shade until no longer wet to the touch. Once ready to transport, skin-dry parchment is moved to full-time drying beds in the sun where it will be continuously rotated and aerated for one week, and typically covered during the hottest hours of the day, 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., when the intensity of the sun can potentially crack the coffee’s brittle parchment.

As a family owned business, Mijane and his sons emphasize social impact in the communities where they source coffee. They have invested in more localized cherry collection sites to reduce the transportation cost for small producers. Mijane’s family have also contributed to road construction projects that make travel for everyone a bit easier. They are also responding to the local needs for investing in school infrastructure projects and making sure the children have equipment to play sports.