Ethiopia Guji G2 Washed - Jigesa

Ripe lime, cedar, nutmeg, peach, chocolate
TOP LOT
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Bag Weight 60 KG BAG
Harvest Season 2023/24
Status Spot
Lot Number P612603-1
  • 129 Bag(s)
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About This Coffee

The washing station at Jigesa, near the town of Shakisso, was established by Testi Specialty Coffee in 2015, and now serves 850 local smallholder farmers, growing a mix of heirloom varieties at elevations ranging from 1950 - 2150 masl. Testi is deeply involved in the communities surrounding their network of washing stations, with a particular focus on providing access to education for farmer's children.

At Jigesa, the traditional washed process of the area has been improved with meticulous attention to detail. After picking and sorting, coffees are depulped and fermented 72 hours, with fresh water cycled in every 24 hours and tank temperature maintained between 18.5 and 20.5 degrees centigrade. After washing, parchment is dried on raised beds under parabolic shade for 15 days. 

Country of Origin Ethiopia
Region Jigesa village, Shakisso, Guji
Producer Type Washing Station
Wet Mill Jigesa Washing Station
Processing Washed
Growing Altitude 1950m - 2150m
Harvest Season 2023/24
Bag Weight 60 KG BAG
Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
Plant Species Arabica
Variety Ethiopia Heirloom

History of Coffee in Ethiopia 

Coffee is ancient in Ethiopia, but coffee farming is not. By the end of the 9th Century coffee was actively being cultivated in Ethiopia as food, but probably not as a beverage. It was the Arab world that developed brewing. Even as coffee became an export for Ethiopia in the late 1800’s, Ethiopian coffee was the result of gathering rather than agricultural practices. A hundred years ago, plantations, mostly in Harar, were still the exception, while “Kaffa” coffee from the southwest was still harvested wild. In 1935, William Ukers wrote: “Wild coffee is also known as Kaffa coffee, from one of the districts where it grows most abundantly in a state of nature. The trees grow in such profusion that the possible supply, at a minimum of labor in gathering, is practically unlimited. It is said that in south-western Abyssinia there are immense forests of it that have never been encroached upon except at the outskirts.” 

Growing Coffee in Ethiopia

As the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia is home to more species of coffee plants than any place on earth, much of it still growing wild, and much of it still undiscovered. All Ethiopian coffee is Arabica and at least 150 varieties are commercially cultivated. Traditionally, these have simply been labelled as “heirloom varietals”; however, this is changing as the Jimma Agricultural Research Center works to identify species. Although there are a few estates in Ethiopia, 95% of coffee is grown by small land holders in a wide variety of environments, including “coffee forests” where coffee grows wild and is harvested by the local people. All specialty grade Ethiopian Coffee is grown above 4,000 feet and most above 6,000. In the highlands of Sidamo and Yirgacheffe, coffee can grow above 7,000 feet.

  • Region Jigesa village, Shakisso, Guji
  • Producer Type Washing Station
  • Wet Mill Jigesa Washing Station
  • Processing Washed
  • Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
  • Plant Species Arabica
  • Variety Ethiopia Heirloom
  • Min Growing Altitude 1950m
  • Max Growing Altitude 2150m
  • On Sale No
  • Top Lot Yes
  • Status Spot
  • Coffee Grade ETH CA WA GUJI G2
  • CTRM Contract Number P612603-1
  • Country of Origin Ethiopia
  • Warehouse The Annex CA