Day 16 of RISE Coffee Countdown Calendar - Ethiopia Guji
Origin: Ethiopia
Location: Guji, Shakisso farm
Altitude: 1800 masl
Bean: Arabica
Varietals: Heirloom
Process: Washed
Tasting notes: Maple syrup and nectarine.
Why Alice and Ben love it: We love the flavour and texture that this Heirloom coffee delivers! This coffee has a thick syrupy taste with distinctive floral, tea-like, qualities.
About the coffee:
Shakisso Farm can be found in the Guji zone, the southern part of Oromia, one of Ethiopia’s largest regions. The farm was started by father of seven, Haile Gebre and began producing organic coffees in 2001.
Shakisso Farm spreads out over 640 hectares and has its own nursery sites to grow coffee seedlings. During harvest, there are more than 300 coffee pickers harvesting coffee and about 150 of them supply coffee individually to the wet mill
There are many gold mines in the area of Shakisso Farm, so the coffee fields are literally full of holes where people have been digging for gold. This makes walking between the coffee trees risky. As a result, the biggest challenge these days is to find employees to maintain the plantation and pick cherries.
The Oromo people of Guji consider their region as the ancestral cradle of Oromo culture. The ceremonies, rituals, and lore that come forth of the Gada age-group system, are still subsequently and widely practiced among Guji’s inhabitants. Besides the system, coffee farming has ancient roots with in the Guji culture – the two are inseparable.
