The world knows the exotic coffee of Yirgacheffe of Ethiopia. The region of Guji is located South-east of the town of Yirgacheffe. Rapid developments- both commercial and cultural -over the past six decades have elevated Guji, to a status of a unique coffee region. To the north of this region is the woreda (district) of Adola. It is here, around 2100 MSL that the Guji Adola branch of Kerchanshe is located.
Agro-Ecology of Guji Adola
The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1500 to 2500 meters above sea level; Maleka Gudiba, Wadera Tule is the highest point. Rivers include the Ganale Orya and the Awata.
Rainfall: Adola has bimodal rain seasons, summer from June to November and spring from March to May.
Vegetation Adola is enriched with both high natural forest resource and plantation forests.
Altitude: The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1500 to 2500 meters above sea level.
Latitude: in the north-western part of the district, it has an elevation greater than 2000 m above sea level
Soil type and PH: Soil and topography the major soil of the Adola Rede district is nitosols (red basaltic soils) and orthcacrosols. The soil of the study district is dominantly brown.
Slope: The forest area is characterized by rolling topography and it is highly dissected by two main rivers of Genale and Dawa.
Temperature: According to the climatic data from the meteorological station of Adola Rede district, the mean annual maximum and minimum temperature of the study district is 23 and 16°C, respectively.
Farm size: 350 hectares, of which 200 hectares are coffee trees.
Rainfall
- Maximum 1200ml
- Minimum 2000ml
Altitude: 1,900-2,100 masl
Soil Type: Fertile volcanic red Soil or deep sandy loam
Humidity: 50-70%
Method of Natural and Washed Coffee Processing
The coffee cherries sourced from smallholders throughout the local area are processed using both washed and natural processing. Adola has managed to increase the amount of high-grade coffee that always tastes great thanks to the attention to detail and good practices adopted at the processing station. It’s super clean and fresh, without any trace of the dirty or earthy flavours that are sure signs of a lack of care in processing.
Natural Processing
The natural process suits the floral yet citric profile of Guji coffee very well and keeps more vibrancy in the coffee that reflects in the sweet flavour that the natural process adds to the cup.
Adola processing site has its dry mill and can produce 15 Bags/hour. Cherries are hand-sorted from unripe and overripe cherries before they go into floatation tanks, where the cherries are covered with water. Any cherries that float are removed. Whole, ripe cherries are then dried in the sunshine on raised African drying beds, which are laid out on hessian cloths for about 15–18 days depending on the weather conditions. The cherries are covered with plastic or shade nets during the midday heat and at night.
The natural process means that the beans are left to dry in the cherry after it is picked. This is a tricky process to do well, as the beans need to be turned over for consistency and even drying. If some cherries are not dried it will give a mouldy flavour to the cup as well as over fermented flavours. But when it is done well, it gives a sweet cup and a bigger body. In the case of Adola, the natural process is what enhances the blueberry mousse character in the coffee.
Washed Processing
Adola Processing site has its wet mill with a capacity of producing 30Bags/hour.
Each day, red cherries collected from farmers are carefully hand-picked coffee cherries are delivered to the Adola wet mill and are hand-sorted before processing to remove unripe, overripe, or damaged fruit, to enhance the quality and sweetness of the cup.
The coffee cherries are then pulped to remove the fruit and skin, and then graded by weight; heavier beans are of superior quality and deliver a sweeter cup.
After grading, the parchment-covered coffee is fermented in tanks of clean water for 36–72 hours to remove the mucilage (sticky covering) by allowing it to ferment and detach from the coffee. The coffee is then re-washed and graded again by density in washing channels and soaked in clean water. Then to it pass through three drying stages. Skin drying for 3 hours, slow drying for 3 days under plastic shade, and final drying for 10–15 days on African drying beds based on Environmental conditions.
Then dried coffee is carefully hand-sorted, and any defects are removed. It is also turned regularly to ensure that it dries evenly and consistently. At midday, the coffee is covered to protect it from the full sun. It is also covered overnight to prevent damage from morning dew. Once the coffee is dry it is rested in parchment until it is ready for export.
About the Coffee
- Flavor profile: A very sweet juicy cup and a little bit funky with notes of blueberries and a hint of dried raspberries, and passion fruit. With a silky mouth feel, and a lingering aftertaste.
- Category: Adventurous
- Varietal: Indigenous wild varietals
- Roast Style: Light to medium to enhance the light, juicy mouth feel with heaps of fruity and floral notes.