New Coffee: Wote, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia 

For the third year in a row we work with the private wet mill Wote in Yirgacheffe in southern Ethiopia. The coffee is grown in the micro region Gedeo in Yigracheffe, known for having some of the most complex and intense flavours in Yirgacheffe. The cherries are then processed at Wote by the producer Mr. Mergya and his around 100 employees. By the process station the river Wote runs and is the natural water source to the process station. 

The coffee is delivered to Wote from about 700 smallholders in the surrounding area, as well as remote farmers, where the coffee is growing at an altitude ranging from 1800 to 2000 m.a.s.l. Mr. Mergya has spent the last years to improve the preparation and processing of the coffees to meet the quality standards of the high end coffee market. Improvements has been  done to increase the knowledge in drying methods and careful sorting. We’ve been visiting Wote once a year the past three years, impressed by the great work performed at the process station with focus on their attention for details at the station. For working with a coffee delivered from 700 farmers in Ethiopia, we are fascinated with the very even quality it brings. 

Since coffee grows in the wild in Ethiopia, improved varieties and native coffee of forest origin is transferred into the smallholder’s gardens, meaning that we find no less than 26 varieties of coffee in our cup of Wote. All varietes go under the generic Ethiopian Heirloom, in this case Yirgacheffe type.

The coffee is being sourced for us by Nordic Approach. This year we buy 10 bags of it, make sure to get some. 

Cupping notes: Coffee flower and black tea aromas. Pointed acidity profile with a range of classic Yirgacheffe flavors like bergamot, hints of floral black tea, jasmine and lemon. Also some sweet apricot. It’s transparent, lively and delicate with highly complex fruit notes, medium body with a great juiciness.