Gore Dako

The Kata Muduga Cooperative Union in the Agaro Gera district of Western Ethiopia continues to deliver juicy, elegant coffees with a sparkling brightness that lingers on the palette. Our first release of the new harvest, the Gore Dako washing station is one of the youngest members of this growing union with their first crop arriving in 2019. Notes of watermelon and pomegranate abound, supported by a molasses-like sweetness and texture.

Around 10 years ago, USAID’s Technoserve project vested area cooperatives in Agaro with new processing equipment, funds to improve washing station infrastructure, and extensive training in both the elements of clean coffee processing and cash flow management throughout the season. The return for farmers practically happened overnight, as coops such as Duromine, Nano Challa, and Yukro fetched significantly higher prices for their harvests and paid off their loans in a single year.

Asnake Night, who was initially a business advisor with Technoserve, decided to take the project further by forming the Kata Muduga Cooperative union to service the region. Under his leadership, coop membership bloomed exponentially as the success of the model spread throughout the community. New washing stations were built, efficiency improved, and Agaro coffees developed a reputation in the buying world for their quality, uniqueness, and longevity.

After the coffee is mechanically de-pulped to remove most of the mucilage, it is soaked overnight in fiberglass tanks to remove the remaining sugars from the seed before being washed clean. During the first 24-48 hours of the 8-day drying process on raised beds, a shaded canopy is employed to protect the wet parchment from direct sunlight which can cause the parchment to crack. This goes a long way to ensuring the integrity of the drying process, and the remarkable longevity that sees these coffees at peak flavor well beyond 12 months from harvest.