Ethiopia, Gargari Gutity, Filter

Ethiopia

REGION: Gedeb, Yirgacheffe

FARM: Various Smallholder Farms

VARIETAL: 74110

PROCESSING: Washed

ALTITUDE: 1983 masl

CROP YEAR: 2026

Farms use organic, traditional methods (though uncertified due to cost), intercropping with local food crops like avocados and papaya. Environmental challenges include climate change, pests (like the Coffee Berry Borer), and market instability. In response, farmers work with development agents to implement sustainable farming practices, including soil composting, shade tree planting, and replanting old trees.

Processing involves careful hand-picking, sun-drying on raised beds for 15-20 days at the Gelcha Kindu station (which has 150 drying beds), and final milling near Addis Ababa, with multiple steps of sorting and grading for quality.

Yirgacheffe is known for its high-quality coffees, grown at elevations above 2,000m. Despite being densely populated, the region produces mostly washed and some natural coffees, often from “garden coffee” plots.

Historically, Ethiopia’s coffee traceability was limited by the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), which anonymized origins. But since 2017 reforms, full traceability is now possible, allowing more transparency and fairer pricing for producers.