About This Coffee
The founder of Nardos Coffee Export, Ato Aklilu Kassa is said to be the one who brought the first coffee trees to Guji from Sidamo. Today, Nardos Coffee Export is owned and managed by Ato Aklilu Kassa’s grandson, Aklilu Kassa Chirrissa. Chirrissa oversees the family farm, Beka Farm. He also works with 2,060+ outgrowers in the Guji zone who farm over 3,000 hectares in total.
Cultivation
Nardos Coffee Export works closely with associated outgrower farmers and their communities to improve both coffee quality and quality of life in coffee-growing communities. Since 2010, Nardos has been committed to alleviating social issues in contributing coffee-growing communities
Their programs focus on increasing access to education, especially for women. Nardos built a school library and made feminine hygiene products more available for young women the Bule Hora District. School attendance across Ethiopia often sees precipitous drops for girls as they reach puberty. Many girls are forced to miss weeks of school each year or drop out all together because they do not have access to hygiene products to enable them to attend school during menstruation. Nardos helps expand opportunities for young women in the district by making hygiene products more accessible. With greater access to inexpensive or free hygiene products, young women are able to stay in school longer. Expanding education opportunity for young women all correlates to lower rates of child marriage and young pregnancies.
Nardos remains committed to continuing their programs independently and in concert with importers, roasters and other business partners.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Cherry is selectively handpicked on both Beka Farm and outgrower farms. Outgrowers deliver cherry to washing stations where ripe cherry is accepted for processing. Cherry is pulped and fermented before being sundried on raised beds. It takes an average of 22 days for parchment to dry. Once dry, parchment is bagged and rests in a warehouse for 2 to 3 weeks before it’s milled and prepared for export at Beka Dry Mill in Bule Hora.
Grade 2
In the Ethiopian grading system, grade 2 refers to the cup quality as well as physical quality of a coffee. A grade 2 allows between four and 13 full defects per 300gr green sample. The cup typically has fruity and clean characteristics without any off-flavors.
Ethiopia Sidamo 2 is a classic in every coffee range and is especially popular in blends. The cup quality can be very surprising for prices well below the grade 1 price point. For us, grade 2 coffee typically sits around an 83-84 cup score.
About Guji
Guji coffee has only recently been distinguished from neighboring Sidamo and Yirgacheffe. However, due to their incredible quality and unique profiles, they are quickly gaining international recognition.
The Guji region receives ample rainfall and is marked by steep mountainous terrain: perfect conditions to support the vast array of coffee grown here.
Coffee in Ethiopia
While Ethiopia is famous as coffee’s birthplace, today it remains a specialty coffee industry darling for its incredible variety of flavors. While full traceability has been difficult in recent history, new regulations have made direct purchasing possible. We’re partnering directly with farmers to help them produce top quality specialty lots that are now completely traceable, adding value for farmers and roasters, alike.
The exceptional quality of Ethiopian coffee is due to a combination of factors. The genetic diversity of coffee varieties means that we find a diversity of flavor, even between (or within) farms with similar growing conditions and processing. In addition to varieties, processing methods also contribute to end quality. The final key ingredients for excellent coffee in Ethiopia are the producing traditions that have created the genetic diversity, processing infrastructure and great coffee we enjoy today.
Most producers in Ethiopia are smallholders, and the majority continue to cultivate coffee using traditional methods. As a result, most coffee is grown with no chemical fertilizer or pesticide use. Coffee is almost entirely cultivated, harvested and dried using manual systems.