Ethiopian Coffee Beans Introduction to Ethiopian Coffee Growing Regions Woka Cooperative

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The Rise of Single Farm Projects in Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe Region

The reputation of Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe growing region has reached global acclaim, but within the Yirgacheffe system, a new trend has emerged: the development of single farmer and single farm productions. Taking the Worka Cooperative as an example, let's explore this trend.

Ethiopia's Coffee Export System

According to Ethiopian regulations, there are three types of coffee export systems:

1. Private processing plants that export through ECX bidding

2. Cooperative systems

3. Single Farm Project (SFP) system

Among these three export models, ECX trading still accounts for the majority, with a smaller portion conducted through cooperatives or processing stations as direct trade. Three to four years ago, single farms were rarely seen on the market.

However, after encountering small farmers from the Worka Cooperative like Bericho, we have increasingly seen the development of more single farms in both the Yirgacheffe and Guji regions.

The Worka Cooperative

Actually, the cooperative system is not inherently bad, especially for internationally renowned cooperatives like the Worka Cooperative, which typically produce high-quality beans.

The Worka Cooperative was established in 2005 and is located in a relatively remote area within the Yirgacheffe legal growing region, approximately 75 kilometers from the local coffee trading hub of Dilla town. More than half of Ethiopia's coffee cultivation belongs to the Garden Coffee model, where farmers grow coffee in small areas in their backyards.

The Worka Cooperative consists of 305 farmers with a total planting area of about 763 hectares and an annual production of nearly 460 tons. While not large in scale, the cooperative members have strong cohesion and produce high-quality coffee, often resulting in premium products. They have even collectively obtained organic certification. However, at its core, the coffee cherries processed by the cooperative still come from numerous member small farmers, and product traceability cannot be detailed enough to trace back to individual producers. This creates a dilemma where so-called traceable sources remain somewhat unclear. Occasionally, a few bad beans can damage the cooperative's reputation. This continuous extension of traceability has led the Worka Cooperative to begin launching single farmer batches.

The Evolution of Single Farm Projects

In fact, the Single Farm Project (SFP) system has always existed in Ethiopia, but its proportion has been low. Additionally, past markets were dominated by large commercial batches that didn't prioritize quality, making the single farm model unappealing to many farm owners and preventing its development from increasing.

However, with the third wave specialty coffee movement over the past two to three decades, Ethiopian coffee has gained prominence in the market. Furthermore, some influential Ethiopians who had been operating coffee businesses in Europe and America began returning to Ethiopia to engage in the coffee industry (the ECX chairman is one such American SCAA professional who returned to his home country). This trend has planted seeds of influence in Ethiopia, nurtured by those who have been immersed in Western coffee market culture, bringing innovative changes to the industry. According to coffee hunters, many local farmers have also started dedicating themselves to single farm operations. Recently, this has even driven a wave of Ethiopians returning from Europe and America to invest in their hometowns. Ethiopia's coffee beans will become even more exciting!

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee pour-over recommendations: V60/90°C/1:15 ratio/2 minutes brewing time.

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