Ethiopia Goro Bedessa
Description
Country/Region: Ethiopia/Hambela Wamena, West Guji
Varietal: Heirloom, JARC 74110 and 74112
Processing: Natural
Elevation: 2350 m.a.s.l.
We Taste: Apricot, White Grape, Floral
The Goro Bedessa washing station sits at an elevation of 2.350 meters above sea level, in the Hambela Wamena Woreda, West Guji. Set up in 2021 by Mekuria Mergia, 149 dedicated smallholder farmers supply to the washing station, producing 36 tons of coffee annually.
Mekuria Mergia started in the coffee industry at a young age, collecting coffee from farms and selling to nearby mills as a smallholder agent. With an interest in processing coffee, he eventually began to set up washing stations and dry mills in Yirgacheffe and Guji. His reputation grew as he supplied exporters with high quality coffees with sweetness and complexity.
In 2018, Mekuria set up Wete Ambela Coffee Coffee Export PLC to export his coffees directly to final buyers. Despite his ever-expanding role, he still considers himself a representative of the producers he works with.
In this natural process lot, handpicked cherries are dried on the 100 African raised beds at the washing station. Drying takes place over 15 days on average, and then stored in a well-ventilated brick warehouse for three weeks.