About This Coffee
Faysel Abdosh acquired Adorsi washing station in 2017 and renovated it in 2018 to improve processing infrastructure. Adorsi is located in a prime location in the middle of Yirgacheffe to source and process high-quality specialty coffees from smallholders cultivating coffee in the region. Adorsi is equipped to process large quantities of cherry while maintaining coffee quality through rigorous sorting and processing. The name Gerdo is a mixture of Gedeo (the zone) and Idido (the village) where Adorsi is located.
Cultivation
Farming methods in the region remain largely traditional. Farmers typically intercrop their coffee plants with other food crops. This method is common among smallholders because it maximizes land use and provides food for their families.
In addition to remaining traditionally intercropped, most farms are also organic-by-default. Farmers typically use very few — if any — fertilizers or pesticides. Most farm work is done manually by the immediate family.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Farmers selectively handpick ripe cherry and deliver it to Adorsi station. At intake, employees hand sort incoming cherry to remove any under- or over-ripes or damaged cherry.
Cherry is then pulped and fermented for 36 to 48 hours in the station’s standardized fermenting tanks. After fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and transferred to raised drying beds where they will dry for approximately 7 to 11 days.
About Yirgacheffe
Yirgacheffe is a district in Southern Ethiopia’s Sidamo region. Yirgacheffe is widely recognized as one of coffee’s ‘birth regions.’ Washed coffees coming from this district are so well-known and sought-after that Yirgacheffe is considered its own micro-region.
The majority of coffees grown in Yirgacheffe are local landrace varieties (which are often also called Ethiopian heirloom). Other varieties grown in the region were developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC). JARC is an important research center for Ethiopia and has done a great deal of work on developing disease-resistant and high-yielding varieties that still demonstrate quality in the profile.
Most farmers in the region farm on fewer than 5 hectares (many counting their coffee farms in terms of trees rather than area). Cultivation methods are traditional for the most part, with coffee being grown as part of an integrated ‘coffee garden,’ intercropped with other food crops.
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.