Ethiopa

Djimma

Origin: Ethiopia

Region: Djimma

Town: Various

Estate: Various

Altitude: 1750-2000 masl

Varieties: JARC varieties , Local Landraces

Grade: GR5

Harvest: Nov-Jan

Processing: Natural

Tasting Notes: Cocoa, jammy fruits and black tea

The Djimma region in southwestern Ethiopia is known as the birthplace of coffee. The story of the famous goatherder, Kaldi, is thought to take place in Djimma.

Farming methods in Djimma remain largely traditional. Most farmers in the region farm on fewer than 5 hectares (many counting their coffee farms in terms of trees rather than area). Cultivation methods are traditional for the most part, with coffee being grown as part of an integrated ‘coffee garden,’ intercropped with other food crops.

In addition to remaining traditionally intercropped, most farms are also traditional and organic-by-default. Farmers in Djimma typically use very few—if any—fertilizers or pesticides. Most farm work is done manually and very few tasks are mechanized, even during processing.

The majority of coffees grown in Djimma are local landrace varieties (which are often also called Ethiopian heirloom). Other varieties grown in the region were developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC). JARC is an important research center for Ethiopia and has done a great deal of work on developing disease resistant and high yielding varieties that still demonstrate quality in the cup.

Due to the size of most plots, coffee is typically handpicked by landowners and their family.

All coffee is selectively hand-harvested before being delivered to a collection center, coffee is sorted to remove damaged or underripe cherry. Cherry is then placed on raised beds to dry under shade for 10-14 days until moisture content reaches 12%. During this time, the cherry is regularly turned and hand sorted several times to remove any damaged or discolored cherry.