Ethiopia Dry Process Fitsume

The Fitsume lot was processed at the Gerba Doku mill, not far from Gerba town, Guji Zone. "Fitsume" is the name this group uses for their top grades. It roughly translates to "perfection", and a lot of labor goes into acheiving that status! First, the coffee cherry is floated in water to remove any underripe coffee, which typically floats to the top, while the ripe coffee sinks. Once the coffee is moved to the drying tables it undergoes several more rounds of hand sorting. All of this attention lends to a fairly uniform coffee, especially when you consider it is dry process. The Gerba Doku is run by Gemechu Shonora, along with brothers Shebura, Morkata and Adugna. Their father worked for the local union many years ago as a coffee collector, going out into the surrounding towns buying coffee cherries from farmers. The processing site sits at 2200 meters above sea level, and some of the farms they buy from are even higher elevation! They produce both dry and wet process coffees. Dry process coffees typically dry in sun for 3 days, and then an addition 2+ weeks in the shade. We found the cup expressed relatively clean stone fruit flavors, and reminded me of some of the coffees we buy from cooperatives in the West. It does produce quite a bit of chaff, which is normal for this type of process. Just be aware of it and be sure to vaccuum your roaster between batches, especially for those with open heating elements, like a Behmor.