HARU WASHING STATION

Gedeo stretches south from the Sidama zone and is bounded to the south by the Oromia area, with Guji to the east. It is located in the Ethiopian Highlands, which has minimal height below 1500m and is home to Ras Dashen, Ethiopia’s highest peak and the tenth highest in Africa. In Ethiopia, Kebeles are divided into Woredas, further divided into Zones, and Zones are further divided into regions. It is common to find variation amongst spellings of places due to the language not readily translating into Western Languages, often leading to different interpretations of spellings.

THE HARU COOPERATIVE

Since 2003, the Haru Cooperative has been a member of the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. The YCFCU, which was founded to better connect farmers to the outside market and farmers, presently has 23 member cooperatives.

This cooperative’s coffee is a little uncommon in that it is wet-processed as usual before being treated to a second soak after processing, similar to Kenyans. This should result in an exceptionally clean coffee and enhanced clarity and complexity in the cup. The cultivars themselves are sometimes referred to as heirloom. However, due to significant genetic variability, an heirloom in one location does not guarantee the same traits as an heirloom in another. Kumie (kurume, kudhume) is a tiny bean commonly classified as yirgacheffe or yirgacheffe type, although dega is more extensively distributed and wolisho is expected in the highlands.

HAFURSA HARU WASHING STATION

The Hafursa Haru washing station is adjacent to Yirgacheffe town, not far from the Oromia zone’s border. The area has a population of little more than 195 thousand people, with just 8% living in cities. At the washing station, there are 12 standardized fermentation tanks and over 169 drying beds. This enables quick turnaround while maintaining lot traceability, becoming increasingly important in Ethiopian processing as trade opens up. This coffee was sourced from drying bed 160.

The cultivars themselves are sometimes referred to as heirloom; but, because of significant genetic variety, heirloom in one location does not guarantee the same qualities as an heirloom in another. Kumie (kurume, kudhume) is a tiny bean commonly referred to as Yirgacheffe or Yirgacheffe type, although Dega is more extensively distributed and Wolisho is found in the highlands.

Wet processing was initially introduced to Ethiopia in the 1970s, with Yirgacheffe serving as the first location. Continuing to push for quality, TDS and water pH are taken to better control fermentation times. The water here has a pH of 7.7, making it slightly more alkaline than neutral. The cherries are selected and hand-sorted to remove any noticeable defects. After being pulped and fermented, the beans are rinsed with clean running water and dried on raised beds to a humidity level of 11.5 percent. The parchment coffee is stored locally until it is transported to the dry mill facility in Addis Ababa where it is hulled, laser color sorted, and bagged for export.