Ethiopia is the birthplace of Arabica coffee. Some of the most complex and beautifully delicate coffees are Ethiopia's gift to the world. Which is why we always get a bit excited for any new Ethiopian lot coming in. This year we have chosen another delicious washed coffee showcasing some of the tastiest aspects this origin as to offer - delicate floral notes of jasmine, a creamy yet refreshing acidity that reminded us of fresh apricots and a spicy, vanilla-like sweetness to round things off - we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
 
Background Info:
 
Most of the coffee from this origin is grown by smallholders on small plots of land, sometimes not much bigger than a garden, often in the middle of lush diverse forests, using traditional farming techniques that rarely involve the use of any chemicals - which makes most Ethiopian coffees organic by default. 
 
This particular lot, is one of the first ones coming out of a brand new washing station named ATOMA, located in the Wanja Kersa community in the Gera District of the Jimma Zone of Oromia region in the West of Ethiopia. It is Mike Mamo's latest project. Mike is an American-Ethiopian coffee entrepreneur and owner of Addis Exporters. His company provides QC oversight and manages post harvest processing at their own washing stations. He also works closely with local farmer groups who hold individual export licences to support them with marketing, QC and logistics. We have been working with Mike through different logistics partners from the start and are very happy and grateful for being part of this value chain with him because the work he does is crucial for the communities he works with and his focus on quality as well as economic, social and environmental sustainability is very much in line with our values here at Kontext Coffee Co.
 
Wanja Kersa is a community lot processed at the new washing station from cherries delivered directly from local farmers who live in the area. They are using an eco-friendly de-pulping machine that helps to save water at this station and the lots of cherries get separated by the day they were delivered on. Going forward there are plans to have female farmer lots, as well as single producer lots which will be processed separately for even more traceability.