The Gemede family—formed by Adanech Gemede, Zinash Haile, Birhanu Haile, Tego Gemede and Tadesse Galgale—has a reputation for its coffee. Most of them work on plots of land inherited from their parents, so they live close together near the village of Dobi in the Yirgacheffe area.
As a big group of producers, they can combine their harvests, process them together, and sell them under one name: The Gemede Family coffee lot. They do it in the Jabanto Farmers Group facilities.
Varieties
This lot features some typical Ethiopian Heirloom varietals: Kurume, 74110, and 74112.
Process
Before laying the cherry for drying, these are sorted in water by removing floaters and underripe fruit. The remaining ripe red cherries are dried on raised beds (usually called an African bed) for 18-21 days—this is when the natural processing takes place!
A total of 11kg of red coffee cherries per square metre is distributed on a drying bed made of bamboo mat. These are turned around manually 6 times per day to maintain uniform drying. Every night, the cherries are covered with nylon mesh and plastic.
During all these days, numerous quality controls take place. From the 15th day onwards, the moisture loss is constantly monitored. When the moisture level reaches 9.5%-10.5%, the natural fermentation process is considered complete—it’s time to pack the coffee.
Natural fermentation is a simple yet tricky process; soil, rainfall distribution, temperature, shade, and the genetic makeup of varieties play a significant and interdependent role in the final quality and flavour profile of each coffee lot.
The Gemede family members receive technical support on coffee agronomy and post-harvest handling practices from a local bureau of agriculture and G Broad Trading PLC, bringing quality and yield improvements year on year.
