Primary - Potts Point

"This lot is made up of coffees grown and processed in the ‘kebele’ (town or village) of Anosoro, in the ‘woreda’ (administrative district) of Shakiso, in Ethiopia’s Guji Zone. The coffee was processed at Gemeda Elias Washing Station, which is operated by Tracon Trading. This family-owned exporting company also manage quality control at the washing station, and prepare the resulting parchment for export at an impressive dry mill facility in Addis Ababa. The washing station is owned by Mr. Gemeda Elias, himself a successful CoE-winning coffee grower, who works closely with Tracon to produce both washed and natural coffees.

During harvest, freshly picked coffee cherry is delivered daily by some 850 local coffee growers, before being processed under the watchful eye of washing station manager, Gemeda Abdi. The majority of the families who contributed to this lot farm organically on tiny plots of land, averaging just 2.6 hectares in size. Coffee is their main cash crop and grows alongside food crops of corn, grain and bananas, under the shade of native Birbira, Wanza, and Acacia trees. The average elevation of the farms in this region is very high – around 1,900–2,100m above sea level – and this, combined region’s cool temperatures, is ideal for the slow ripening of coffee cherries, leading to denser beans and a sweeter, more complex cup profile."

 

"Kabumbu is a small coffee estate in Kirinyaga County, owned and managed by Joseph Mugo Karaba (pictured above). Joseph inherited the shamba (Swahili for ‘farm’) from his father, who first planted coffee in the 1960s. He and his family live on the estate which includes five acres of coffee trees and a small wet mill, where Joseph processes and prepares his coffees.

Kabumbu sits across 1,500-1,750 meters above sea level in the foothills of the extinct volcano, Mt Kenya. The area is defined by its bright red, nutrient-rich, volcanic soil and cool climate, both of which contribute to the outstanding quality of the coffees produced on this farm. Joseph grows SL-28 and SL-34 varieties on his farm, which were planted by his father when the shamba was established. The trees have been continuously regenerated since that time, using a stumping technique where new stalks are allowed to grow from the stump to replace older stalks, which are then cut back when the new stalks reach full maturation. In addition to these varieties, Joseph has chosen to plant a newer hybrid variety, Batian, which has been developed specifically for high yields and disease resistance, coupled with the potential for excellent cup quality."