Ethiopia Kochere Boji

About this coffee

Boji is a washing station located in the Kochere woreda of the SNNPR region. It serves around 500 smallholder producers. Kochere is a coffee-growing area close to the town of Yirgacheffe, home to some of the most-loved coffees in the world. Natural processing at the station follows the traditional Ethiopian methods. First, cherry is floated and visually checked for underripes, overripes and damaged cherry. After washing cherry in clean water, workers transfer cherry straight to the drying field. They spread the cherries in a single layer. During the first few days, cherry is carefully turned every 30 minutes to ensure evening drying. This is also when workers remove any damaged cherry. After a few days, cherry is adjusted so that it sits in a slightly thicker layer, which helps slow the drying process. Drying typically takes between 2 and 3 weeks. While Ethiopia is famous as coffee’s birthplace, today it remains a specialty coffee industry darling for its incredible variety of flavors. While full traceability has been difficult in recent history, new regulations have made direct purchasing possible. We’re partnering directly with farmers to help them produce top quality specialty lots that are now completely traceable, adding value for farmers and roasters, alike. The exceptional quality of Ethiopian coffee is due to a combination of factors. The genetic diversity of coffee varieties means that we find a diversity of flavor, even between (or within) farms with similar growing conditions and processing. In addition to varieties, processing methods also contribute to end quality. The final key ingredients for excellent coffee in Ethiopia are the producing traditions that have created the genetic diversity, processing infrastructure and great coffee we enjoy today. Most producers in Ethiopia are smallholders, and the majority continue to cultivate coffee using traditional methods. As a result, most coffee is grown with no chemical fertilizer or pesticide use. Coffee is almost entirely cultivated, harvested and dried using manual systems. Ethiopia’s long coffee history predates written records. Arabica plants are native to Ethiopia, and many of the Arabica varieties now cultivated worldwide have their genetic roots in wild coffee growing in Ethiopian forests. With such easy access to wild-growing coffee, it is undoubtable that early people in Ethiopia consumed coffee for centuries before it became the global beverage that it is today. The long tradition of coffee in Ethiopia has continued into the modern day. Coffee drinking is widespread in both social and cultural contexts and has a place at a wide range of social events. Nearly half of all coffee produced in the country is consumed on the domestic market. That’s no small feat for a country that produces some 860 million pounds of green coffee beans annually. Coffee also provides the main income for up to 25% of the population. More than 15 million people grow coffee as their major cash crop. The Ethiopian government also depends on coffee to generate between 25 and 35% of total annual export earnings.