Ethiopia - Hambela

Processing: Washed
Variety: Heirloom
Altitude: 2100–2200 MASL 
Notes: Peaches, Tropical Fruit, Caramel
Cupping Score: 86

 Certified organic coffee

Acidity: ⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜
Sweetness: ⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜
Body:        ⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜

Source

Aman Adinew founded Metad (the producer of this coffee) in 2010, and coffee production began three years later, working together with his brother, Tariku Adinew, who joined the company shortly afterward.

Metad processes coffee at ten locations in the Hambela and Gedeb regions. It works with 15,000 growers across ten kebeles. What is a kebele? It is the smallest local administrative unit in Ethiopia. In Tirtira Goyo kebele (Hambela woreda) alone, 150 growers deliver coffee cherries to the Metad washing station.

Here are a few words from Tariku Adinew:
“METAD wants to make our community happier and healthier, and we take pride in implementing responsible ethical and social practices throughout our company. A portion of the profits is reinvested in the community, going toward building clinics and roads and digging wells for safe drinking water, as well as many other initiatives, such as adopting and funding a local school.”

Processing

The cherries are depulped using a Penagos eco-pulper the morning after harvest. This machine removes the mucilage and significantly reduces the amount of water needed to wash the parchment. After depulping, the coffee is soaked in water for one day before being spread out on drying tables.

Drying takes place on traditional raised African beds. Thanks to the high altitude (over 2,000 meters) and the favorable orientation of the water mill, optimal drying conditions are achieved. The drying process usually takes between 10 and 15 days.