Ethiopia Guji Arsosala Washed
New in the roastery at Mill City is a washed offering from the Arsosala washing station in the Guji region of Ethiopia. We do our best to carry one or two coffees from Ethiopia all year, but the past few months have made that goal a challenge. During a season of volatility for the green coffee market, it's more important than ever to source intentionally and plan your menu a few months in advance. As we approached the end of our contract for our last washed coffee from Ethiopia, we evaluated this offering as a possible replacement.
After a sample tasting, we knew this coffee would be a great fit for our greens offerings and roasted coffee menu. Initially, I thought this offering was a natural process. Typical of coffees from this region it had lots of intense fruit notes reminiscent of blueberry, watermelon, and peach juice.
With so much competition for high quality greens, we had to move quickly to secure what we needed before this lot was sold out. Luckily, we were able to purchase at a volume that will allow us to carry this coffee for several months.
Ethiopian Washing Stations
The Arsosala washing station was founded in 2015 and currently serves about 1,200 smallholder producers in the Uraga district of Guji. Coffees in Ethiopia are typically grown on very small plots of land by farmers who also grow other crops. The majority of smallholders will deliver their coffee in cherry to a nearby washing station or central processing unit, where their coffee will be sorted, weighed, and paid for or given a receipt. Coffee is then processed, utilizing the washed or natural method, by the washing station and dried on raised beds. Typically, this is how most washing stations function.
The blending of these cherries into day lots makes it virtually impossible under normal circumstances to know precisely whose coffee winds up in which bags on what day, making traceability to the producer difficult. While individual traceability is off the table, finding consistent quality is not. Typically, buying from the same region and washing station will yield similar results, despite not being able to trace back to a single producer.
A Guji washing station. Photo courtesy of Cafe Imports
Heirloom Varietals
As with most Ethiopian offerings, this coffee is categorized as an “Heirloom” varietal. Heirloom is an umbrella term for a lot of Ethiopian coffee varietals. While the specific heritage of these coffees are hard to trace, what we do know is that they have been cultivated in Ethiopia for generations. Most coffee from Ethiopia that is not the prized Gesha or WushWush varietal is usually described as Landrace or Heirloom, to denote that it is an original Ethiopian coffee. In this case, the Heirloom label also is useful because, as mentioned before, so many different farmers are contributing to the washing station making it hard to know what exact varietal a coffee is after blending.
Coffee growing in Ethiopia. Photo courtesy of Cafe Imports
The Region of Guji
The Guji region is located in the southern part of Ethiopia. Before the early 2000’s this region was considered part of the Sidama region, but is now its own region. The Guji zone is heavily forested in high elevation (1800-1900 MASL) where coffee grows in rich red soil. Specialty coffee growing in Guji is relatively new, as previously the region was utilized as farmland. In the last 15-20 years, there has been 11-15 million coffee trees planted as well as 45 washing stations and 55 dry mills.
While tracing varietal and or single producers in Ethiopia can be difficult, understanding how the different regions in Ethiopia affect the flavor profile of the coffee can be useful when purchasing. For Guji, coffees typically tend to be very fruity, with notes of berries and jam, and have a stronger perfume aroma to them.
Applying information to sourcing
Understanding regional differences can be key when determining what coffees to add to your line up. Because varietal traceability can be difficult in Ethiopia, understand what your regional preferences are can help narrow down your search when sourcing Ethiopian coffees in your roastery.
In our case, we tend to look to both Guji and the larger Sidama regions for natural process offerings, which we carry as single origins and blend into our fruity and sweet Cold Brew Blend. We typically source from the Yirgacheffe region for washed coffees, which are also highlighted as single origins and provide lifting acidity in Espresso for Lighter Roasts.
This washed coffee from Arsosala broke the mold for us in a few different ways. First, its fruity presentation and natural sweetness surprised us when we learned it was a washed coffee. Later, as we profiled this coffee for our menu we continued to unlock new and enticing flavors and we’re excited to be able to offer it as a very high-quality light roast on our Toll Roasting menu, as well as share it with other roasters on our greens page.
Currently, you can purchase this green in our standard 10-lb bag or our new “coffee cube”, a 40-lb box. If you go with the larger option, you’ll save $40 and have even more of this coffee to roast and enjoy while it lasts.
