COLEY Ethiopia

Vanilla, Peach. Floral & citrus notes, well balanced & with a silky body

Background

This Limu coffee comes from the Western part of Ethiopia near the forests that are the birthplace of Arabica coffee. Limu and Djimma, another popular coffee producing region, overlap. The region shares many characteristics with the Southern regions, especially Yirgacheffe and Sidamo, coffees from the three regions also share the floral notes and citric acidity. Limu is known for having a fuller body than the other two regions. 

Limu lies within the Djimma zone in the western highlands of Oromia, Ethiopia. The area is famous for its forests and abundant supply of water. The forests create the perfect conditions for the organic matter like fallen leaves and dead trees to compost and return their nutrients to the soil. This cycle of dirt returning to dirt means hummus-rich soils that keep coffee trees well fed.

Most farms in Limu are semi-forest systems, typically under 1 hectare. Farmers selectively handpick cherry and most deliver their cherry to nearby washing stations. At intake, cherry is frequently floated to remove underripe and visually inspected for any damaged cherry. Cherry is pulped and fermented. The abundance of water in the region means that most washing stations will wet ferment coffee, and some will change the water several times during fermentation. After fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and moved to raised beds to dry. At the beds, workers will pick over drying parchment to remove any damaged or defective parchment. Drying parchment is turned regularly to ensure even drying.  Parchment typically takes about 10 days to dry.

Coffee in Ethiopia

While Ethiopia is famous as coffee’s birthplace, today it remains a specialty coffee industry darling for its incredible variety of flavours. While full traceability has been difficult in recent history, new regulations have made direct purchasing possible. We’re partnering directly with farmers to help them produce top quality specialty lots that are now completely traceable, adding value for farmers and roasters, alike.

The exceptional quality of Ethiopian coffee is due to a combination of factors. The generic diversity of coffee varieties means that we find a diversity of flavour, even between (or within) farms with similar growing conditions and processing. In addition to varieties, processing methods also contribute to end quality. The final key ingredients for excellent coffee in Ethiopia are the producing traditions that have created the generic diversity, processing infrastructure and great coffee we enjoy today.

Most producers in Ethiopia are smallholders, and the majority continue to cultivate coffee using traditional methods. As a result, most coffee is grown with no chemical fertilizer or pesticide use. Coffee is almost entirely cultivated, harvested and dried using manual systems.