Ethiopia Tepi G4 RFA Natural - Gemadro Estate (2022 Crop)

Heavy body, date, chocolate, dried fruits

On Sale

Bag Weight	60 KG BAG
Harvest Season	2021/22
Status	Spot
Lot Number	P609355-1

Alameda, CA: Out of Stock Bag(s)

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About This Coffee

The Gemadro coffee estate takes its name from a river of the same name which runs through it. The lowest point on the plantation is at 1500 meters and coffee grows as high as 1900 meters. Unusual among coffee farms in Ethiopia, Gemadro is relatively large, growing coffee on 1200 hectares, most of this under forest conditions. The amount of land that has been left to nature to support the local ecosystem is equal to the amount of land under cultivation.

Country of Origin	Ethiopia
Region	Tepi
Farm Name	Gemadro Estate
Processing	Natural/Dry Processed

Harvest Season	2021/22
Bag Weight	60 KG BAG
Bag Type	Grain Pro / Ecotact
Plant Species	Arabica
Variety	Ethiopia Heirloom
Certifications	Rainforest Alliance Certified

History of Coffee in Ethiopia

Coffee is ancient in Ethiopia, but coffee farming is not. By the end of the 9th Century coffee was actively being cultivated in Ethiopia as food, but probably not as a beverage. It was the Arab world that developed brewing. Even as coffee became an export for Ethiopia in the late 1800’s, Ethiopian coffee was the result of gathering rather than agricultural practices. A hundred years ago, plantations, mostly in Harar, were still the exception, while “Kaffa” coffee from the southwest was still harvested wild. In 1935, William Ukers wrote: “Wild coffee is also known as Kaffa coffee, from one of the districts where it grows most abundantly in a state of nature. The trees grow in such profusion that the possible supply, at a minimum of labor in gathering, is practically unlimited. It is said that in south-western Abyssinia there are immense forests of it that have never been encroached upon except at the outskirts.”

Growing Coffee in Ethiopia

As the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia is home to more species of coffee plants than any place on earth, much of it still growing wild, and much of it still undiscovered. All Ethiopian coffee is Arabica and at least 150 varieties are commercially cultivated. Traditionally, these have simply been labelled as “heirloom varietals”; however, this is changing as the Jimma Agricultural Research Center works to identify species. Although there are a few estates in Ethiopia, 95% of coffee is grown by small land holders in a wide variety of environments, including “coffee forests” where coffee grows wild and is harvested by the local people. All specialty grade Ethiopian Coffee is grown above 4,000 feet and most above 6,000. In the highlands of Sidamo and Yirgacheffe, coffee can grow above 7,000 feet.