Juicy and sweet, a stone fruit note like apricot and peach crumble, with brown sugar and baking spices.
Ajere Edido wet mill operates in the Yirga Cheffe district of the Gedeo Zone, near Aricha town. It’s a privately owned and operated washing station that buys from around 650 small holder farmers in that area, most with less than 2 hectares of coffee planted, in addition to other cash crops, often interplanted. Altitude in the region runs from a low of 1900 meters above sea level to about 2100 meters, this high range playing a role in slower cherry maturation, resulting in dense coffee and often smaller bean size.
“Grade 1” preparation means the coffee receives extra special attention, hand sorting from the drying tables to the final milled coffee, separating out under and over-ripe coffee cherry, and any defective beans. This extra work improves the overall cup quality and consistency from one cup to the next.
Wet processing means that the outer skin and much of the fruit is removed with depulping machinery, and then fermented (with and without water) in order to break down the fruity mucilage layer that’s stuck to the seed, which is then rinsed away with water. The coffee is then moved to raised drying tables where it dries over the course of about 2 weeks time.
Ajere boasts pristine sweetness and clean cup flavors all the way up to medium dark roast, lighter roasts producing a layered profile like honey drizzled pastry with dried and cooked stone fruit flavors. The dry grounds have smells of honey graham cracker and a hint of peach pie, with butter caramel and cinnamon spice emerging in the wet aroma, and some clean dried fruits on the break. The cup is juicy and sweet, a “stone fruit” note opening up to something you can put your finger on, like Turkish apricot, and peach crumble, with brown sugar and baking spices.
- Origin: Ethiopia
- Region: Yirgacheffe
- Producer: Ajere Edido wet mill
- Altitude: 1900-2100m
- Cultivar: Heirloom
- Grade: G1
- Processing: Wet process (washed)
- Drying: Raised-bed Sun Dried
- Arrival: July 2021
- Sourcing: Sweet Maria’s