Merkuria Mergia
Origin: Ethiopia
Zone: Guji
Town: Ana Sora
Notes: Meyer Lemon, Candied Peach, Black Tea
Altitude: 1800-1900 masl
Varietal: Heirloom
Process: Washed
Region: Guji
This coffee comes from a region in Ethiopia inhabited by thousands of small farmers, living on farms that range from 1 to 20 hectares. They bring their ripe coffee cherries to local washing stations to be weighed, pulped and washed with natural mountain spring water. The pulped coffees are then put into fermentation tanks for 72 hours. After this, they are washed and spread out to sun dry for two weeks on raised beds. This coffee is a very sweet and juicy summer option with tasting notes of Meyer lemon, candied peach and black tea.
Farm Details
The road south out of Addis Ababa leads straight to the coffee country. The new highway toll road makes travel to the lowlands quicker than ever, but the pace slows down when the road starts to climb into the mountains. At Shashamane town, the western road carries travelers into the heart of the Sidama Guji coffee region, past family farms and pointed huts made of curved reeds.
Thousands of small farmers live in this area, growing coffee at high altitudes where the Rift Valley meets the Bale Mountains. Farms range in size from 1 to 20 hectares, and banana and mango trees grow alongside coffee trees, imparting their fruity flavors into the soil. For hundreds of years, people here have governed by the Gadaa system, an indigenous democratic process of electing a leader and local representatives. The people of the Guji region take pride in the high quality of this sweet, clean coffee.
Importer
Keffe Coffee
We built Keffa from the ground up, and we understand that what every new business needs are someone to believe in them. We work with roasters of all sizes, those who are brand new and those who are well-versed. Our top priority is supporting and sustaining the people behind the beans by working with origin partners who pay higher than average wages and who treat workers fairly. On the ground in Ethiopia, Keffa’s licensed Q-grader Tsega Melesse cups every lot before we purchase and send us samples and celebrate our cupping score. She also coordinates export logistics with our exporters for expedited shipments.
Drawing on decades-long relationships, we work closely with our partners to make sure each coffee we import is up to our standards. Through these close connections, we can improve processing methods, export sorting and bringing coffees to the level of Zero Defect. We are deeply invested in and committed to the growth of the specialty coffee community.
Keffa Coffee was founded in 2006 by owner Samuel Demisse. Samuel was born and raised in Ethiopia. His father was a coffee professional and taught Samuel about the industry at a young age. Samuel has competed in the United States Coffee Cup Tasters Championship. He placed 3rd in 2017 and 2015 and 2nd in 2013 and 2011. Samuel is a Licensed Q-Grader and an Assistant Q-Instructor.
https://keffacoffee.com
