The last Ethiopian coffee from last year is a lot from the Biftu Gudina washing station. It’s very refreshing and perfect for summer.
The Farm:
Derived from Amharic language, Biftu Gudina means “ray of development.” The cooperative was established in 2012, and is located in the Agaro – Goma woreda (district) within the Jimma zone. There are about 150 smallholders in total. Located near Jimma town, the co-op benefits from high altitude and rich fertile soils. The surrounding area is green and lush.
Biftu Gudina has a strong leadership and chairman who together with Technoserve (an NGO that supports farmers in setting up washing stations and new cooperative structures) established the cooperative. Initial funding came from Falcon Coffees. Since Biftu Gudina was established it has become famous in specialty coffee circles thanks to its incredibly complex and luscious flavour and consequently it now commands prices that farmers could only have dreamt of in the past – as much as four times more.
Always one of the most eagerly anticipated arrivals of the season.
Variety:
This lot is made up of a mix of original Ethiopian varieties called Heirloom. This name can hide many hundreds to thousands of varieties of coffee plants. In Ethiopia, and in most other African countries, it is common for dozens to hundreds of small farmers and families to contribute to a single coffee lot. For generations they have owned coffee trees whose origin is unknown.
Processing:
The coffee at Biftu Gudina is processed using the washed method. At the washing station, cherries are sorted by hand for unripe and over-ripe fruit prior to entering the hopper that feeds the Penagos eco-pulper. Afterwards the beans are soaked in clean water in concrete tanks for 8 hours. Waste water treatment relies on a natural form of filtration through a vetiver grass plot before it goes into the pits and finally the ground. The beans are then sun dried for 10 to 14 days on raised African drying beds and carefully hand sorted again.
Our baristas notes:
A sweet, balanced espresso. Very easy to describe and beautifully drinkable. The best espresso was at ratio 1 : 2.05 with a time between 27 and 29 seconds. The espresso is pleasantly fruity and sweet. Similar to peaches or papaya. Chocolate flavours dominate the finish. At extractions longer than 30 seconds the coffee was unpleasantly bitter while at shorter ones below 26 seconds it was unbalanced and acidic. So at all be careful about the time. Where the coffee really charmed us was in the milk. We use the same recipe and the cappucino is beautifully dominated by the apricot notes. Both in taste and aroma as well.
