KOKE INDIGO, Ethiopia (Carbonic Maceration Natural)

KOKE WASHING STATION

Koke Processing Station takes its name from the village of Koke in the Yirgacheffe district of the Gedeo Zone. Built in 2011, it is a family-run station located on a hillside, with coffee grown both above and below the station. This position gives it access to a range of elevations and distinct flavor profiles.

The station works with dozens of small local producers, many of them families with generations of experience growing coffee. Over the years, the station team has consistently invested in improvements and begun offering direct guidance to partner farmers to improve the quality and consistency of their harvests. One decision that helped define its reputation was separating cherries picked at higher elevations—a small detail that makes a clear difference in the cup.

PRIMROSE

Primrose Specialty Coffee is one of Ethiopia’s most respected coffee exporters. It was founded in 2010 by Abreham Mengiste and Meseret Workneh, both of whom had more than 20 years of industry experience at the time. Primrose works with thousands of producers across nine Ethiopian regions, promoting transparent, sustainable practices and connecting local farms with specialty roasters around the world. Alongside traditional methods, Primrose has also explored experimental processing methods—including carbonic maceration—to bring out the unique aromatic potential of Ethiopian coffee.

HEIRLOOM

Ethiopian coffee grows from a mosaic of heirloom varieties—native trees, most of them not genetically mapped, that have developed naturally in Ethiopian forests and gardens over hundreds of years. These varieties have not undergone commercial selection, which is precisely why they retain a rare aromatic diversity that is difficult to replicate elsewhere. In the cup, this translates into vibrant expressiveness, with floral and fruity notes and well-defined natural acidity.

PROCESSING — CARBONIC MACERATION NATURAL

Carbonic maceration is one of the most precise and remarkable processing methods in specialty coffee, originally borrowed from the world of wine. Whole, intact cherries are placed in sealed tanks and saturated with carbon dioxide. Without oxygen, fermentation takes place inside each individual cherry—an intracellular process that concentrates aromas, intensifies sweetness, and creates a clear, vibrant, distinctive aromatic profile.

After fermentation, the beans are naturally dried on raised African beds, allowing residual sugars to integrate slowly into the beans. The result is a coffee with remarkable aromatic clarity, where tropical fruits and flowers shine without noise or embellishment.

ALTITUDE

1,800–2,000 meters. This is one of the highest elevations in Yirgacheffe, resulting in dense beans, slow maturation, and exceptional aromatic concentration. At these heights, the temperature difference between day and night is significant—and you can taste it in the coffee’s complexity.

TASTING PROFILE

A bright, exotic coffee with a fruity, floral profile that surprises you from the first sip. Apricot and ripe mango take center stage, supported by notes of pineapple that add freshness and vibrancy. Green tea emerges delicately in the background, adding floral elegance and a refinement that brings everything together. The body is medium, the acidity is balanced and pleasant, and the high sweetness makes this coffee extremely approachable—and extremely memorable.

Notes: Apricot, Pineapple, Mango, Green Tea, Medium Body, Medium Acidity, High Sweetness