Here at Servant, we’ve become pretty enamored with washed Ethiopian coffees over the years. If you’re also a fan of washed Ethiopia coffees, then you’ve probably heard the word ‘Guji’. Originally the name of one of the many tribes of indigenous Oromo people, Guji is now most commonly used (in coffee) to identify the Guji/West Guji district of the Oromia region of the country. This high-altitude region of Ethiopia produces some incredible coffees, as the higher altitude slows down the cherries’ maturation process which, among other benefits, allows the beans to absorb more complex sugars leading to deeper, more interesting flavors.

This lot comes from ~450 smallholder farms in and around the village of Bule Hora, who then deliver their freshly picked coffee cherries to the Sakicha Washing Station where it is hand-sorted for quality and mixed with the harvest of other smallholder farms. The cherries are pulped on the same day they are picked, then the coffee is sorted again by weight and allowed to ferment for 72 hours before being washed in a traditional manner via a system of canals. The lower density coffee will float to the surface and be removed leaving the denser, higher quality coffee to be sorted, fermented and then soaked in clean water for about 2 hours. Finally, the coffee is spread into inch-thick layers and dried over 10 days before being sorted again for a final time.

This lot is very special to us because it represents a totally new paradigm for us and our relationship with the production of this coffee. Coffees in Ethiopia are most often only traceable back to an individual washing station due to the nature of the way coffee is grown in the region. With many individual smallholders contributing small lots of coffee to the washing station, it’s often very difficult to form personal relationships with many of the actual humans involved in producing the coffee. We are very lucky that Denver local/our good friend Yoni Girmai and the crew at Emba Imports have given us the opportunity to bring you this delicious coffee, and we’re super grateful for the insights they’ve shared with us about the experience of working with coffee in Ethiopia.

As Yoni puts it, “Hagosa” which means ‘joy’, “sums up the emotion when I started this whole process in Ethiopia cupping different coffees, being able to share the coffee with the team, seeing your reaction to coffee and then being able to sell coffee to friends. Joy is an overwhelming feeling that I’m feeling throughout this [process]”. And a joy this coffee is. The flavor experience starts with the bright sweetness and acidity of navel orange and rolls into deeper complexity and aromatics reminiscent of nectarine, finishing with the mellow and pleasant essence of candied apple. We hope you find as much joy in this coffee as we do.

Cheers!