We Nitrogen Flush all of our coffee when bagging for an inert shelf stable environment by locking freshness inside for up to 6 weeks prior to opening
Producer: Gutu Birre
Farm Size: 3.8 Ha
Region: Tulise, Yirgacheffe
Varietal: Kurume
Process: Natural
Altitude: 2100 masl
Ethiopia holds a special place in every coffee lovers heart not only as the historical birthplace and origin of all coffee but for the incredibly juicy, vibrant & aromatic coffees found in the country.
This microlot was produced from the very well known Kurume local landrace coffee variety. The combined and interrelaed effects of high altitude, superior coffee genetics, coffee processing technique along with the control of a lot from a single farm and varietal - a rarity in Ethiopia - produces an outstandingly deep, sweet complex flavour profile.
The majority of all coffee grown in Ethiopia is produced by smallholder producers who own less than 1 hectare of land amongst other crops for income and sustinence. They harvest their coffee and then usually deliver it to the closest processing station where the cherries are sorted and processed. Most Speciality or 'Grade 1' Coffee in Ethiopia is then either sold as being from this processing station or blended with other lots of similar quality from the same region and made ready for export. Although this system can produce outstanding quality coffee, it restricts the adventure into more clear & complex flavour profiles that can result from separating genetic variteals and farms with their own unique micro-climates & terroir as well as the control that comes to the producer when processing their own coffee themselves. This lot from Gutu Birre is a perfect illustration of that new and exciting approach.
Gutu Birre was born into a coffee farming family and grew up helping his father on the family farm. In accordance with the tradition of Gedeo, when Gutu got married in 1960 he was given a total of one hectare of land from his family. In his long years of coffee farming journey, he has invested in quality improvement, acquisition of more lands and infrastructure. Understanding the economic importance of coffee farming—since it was the only means of income for his family—Gutu decided to expand the size of his coffee farm. Currently he produces coffee from a total of 3.8 hectares of land located in the village of Tulise in Yirgacheffe county of Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia.
His elder son, Tarekegn Gutu, has followed his father’s step and decided to quit school and started coffee farming and business. As an independent young boy, he inherited half hectare from his father back in 2010. Since then, Tarekgen has kept acquiring and contracting additional coffee farms. As of 2019/20 cropping season, Tarekgen Gutu owns a total of 4.8 hectares. He is one of the fewest young coffee farmers in the area who puts a lot of time and energy on coffee agronomy and processing to produce high quality coffee lots.
Both father and son, inherited Gedeo local landrace coffee varieties through their original coffee land. Both expanded their lands and also introduced improved coffee varieties. These micro lots are produced from the very well-known Kurume local landrace coffee variety and two other improved coffee varieties namely 74110 & 74112 developed by coffee breeders at Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC).
Their garden coffee production system is characterized by coffee trees grown near the home under light shade from perennial trees like Albizia and intercropped with root crops and Enset (false banana). The farms are located on a higher altitude coffee growing area in Yirgacheffe where coffee harvesting usually starts late in November as compared to the majority coffee growing areas in Gedeo where harvesting usually starts in October.