Yukro #8

CO-OP: Wanja Kersa (Kata Munduga)

LOCATION: Agaro Gera, Jimma, Ethiopia

ALTITUDE: 1800-2200 MASL

VARIETY: Ethiopian Landraces

PROCESSES: Washed

Tasting Notes: Peach, Mango, Lemon, Floral Honey

All proceeds from sales of Yukro #8 are being donated to help the Hurricane Helen relief efforts in Western NC and Upstate SC. Please join us in supporting our neighbors by purchasing and enjoying this stellar, washed coffee from Agaro, Ethiopia!

Yukro is sourced from 579 smallholder farmers in Ethiopia’s Agaro region in Oromia in the Jimma zone. Our oldest relationship in Ethiopia and one of our oldest in the world, Agaro is in Western Ethiopia.

Processing is beyond meticulous in Agaro. After Penagos processing equipment mechanically removes most of the fruit and mucilage from the seeds, they soak overnight in fiberglass tanks, allowing any remaining sugars to be fully removed from their surface so that the coffees are perfectly clean by the time they hit the drying beds for the 8+ days they’ll need to dry.

Like the rest of Ethiopia, Jimma is divided into several woredas (districts) and kebeles (communities) with washing stations throughout—each offering unique terroir. The Geera woreda is one of them, and within it lies the Wanja Kersa kebele, housing the Yukro washing station.

At the Yukro washing station, the coffees are washed and mechanically depulped, then soaked overnight. After fermentation, coffee is dried for 6 to 8 hours a day over 6 to 8 days on raised beds, with frequent turning for even drying.

The area of Wanja Kersa is characterized by high rainfall distributed across the whole growing season. The harvest season usually goes from mid-October to late January and the farms are located at soaring altitudes that range from 1800-2200 masl. The community’s main source of income is coffee, which they grow on very small farms ranging from 0.1 to 2 hectares. Wanja Kersa’s producers intercrop using false banana trees and maize for shade, selecting based on the age of the coffee plant and its other needs. Their soil is a highly fertile sandy loam with good water retention and drainage. It’s self-sufficient with proper planting practices and doesn’t require fertilizer to produce spectacular quality. The farmers of Wanja Kersa belong to the Oromo people and speak Oromo. They maintain certain ancestral customs and have a quiet lifestyle built almost entirely around coffee farming. Many families here struggle with lack of electricity and drinking-water access. Children in the area usually don’t start going to school until age 9 because they have to travel long distances to get to the nearest school. Due to this education gap, the majority of young people in the area end up dedicating themselves to agriculture: growing potatoes, coffee, maize, or false banana trees on their parents' or neighbors’ farms.