Ethiopia Gogogu

Guji | Heirloom | 2000-2280 masl | Washed

Perfumed and syrupy, this washed Guji carries jasmine and ripe mango over simple syrup sweetness, with crisp pear and a thread of dark chocolate in the finish.

Wate Gogogu is a village in the southernmost forest of Uraga, a woreda in Ethiopia’s Guji zone that produces some of the highest grown coffee in the country. Farms around the village sit between 2000 and 2280 meters, where cooler temperatures slow cherry maturation and yield denser seeds with greater potential for sweetness and acidity. Around 450 smallholders deliver to the Gogogu washing station, most farming less than a hectare. The station is owned and operated by Negusse Debela, whose stations across Guji have built a strong reputation for clean, aromatic washed lots. Processing here is unusually thorough: depulped seeds soak in fresh water for 60 hours, then move through washing channels where they are graded by density. The densest seeds, which make up this lot, get a second overnight soak to strip any remaining mucilage before heading to the drying beds.