About This Coffee
Mira Coffee was established by Morkata Gata and his wife Eyerusalem Gebregziabiher, who together have decades of experience in Guji coffee. Their Gerba Dogo washing station works with over 100 farmers and is strategically positioned to receive cherry from three kebeles (villages): Oda Muda (Gerba Anno), Rogicha and Dogo Sodu. About 90% of the coffee is sourced from farms within just two kilometers of the site, ensuring cherries arrive quickly and at optimal ripeness.
Cultivation
Smallholder farmers cultivate coffee at elevations between 2,100 and 2,300 meters above sea level. Farms cultivate indigenous Ethiopian landraces and JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Center) selections from 1974. Fertile soils, cool nights and high elevations provide ideal conditions for slow cherry maturation and flavor development.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Cherries are selectively handpicked and delivered to the Gerba Dogo washing station. Cherry is hand sorted at intake, and damaged, overripe and underripe cherry is removed. Cherries are placed on raised beds to dry for 12–18 days. Throughout drying, the coffee is turned frequently to ensure even exposure to air and sunlight and covered during the hottest parts of the day or during rain. Once the coffee reaches stable moisture content, it is rested before hulling and export.
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.