Ethiopian Coffee Beans | Ethiopian Coffee Regions | Guji Kayon Mountain Single Farm

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Ethiopia Guji Kayon Mountain Farm: Single-Farm Natural and Washed Micro-Lots

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Oromia Region

Zone: Guji Zone

Woreda: Shakisso Woreda

Processing Station: Kayon Mountain Farm's own processing station

Producer: Ato Esmael

Altitude: 1,900 - 2,200 meters

Variety: Ethiopia Heirloom

Annual Rainfall: Approximately 1,200 - 1,400 mm

Processing Method: Washed, African raised-bed drying

Processing Method: Natural, African raised-bed sun drying

The Kayon Mountain single farm was established in 2012 by Ato Esmael and his family. The whole farm covers approximately 300 hectares, of which about 200 hectares remain pristine preserved forest. Kayon Mountain Farm lies in the premium Shakisso (Shakiso) growing area of Guji, more than 500 kilometers from the capital, Addis Ababa. The Guji growing region actually sits on the eastern side of Yirgacheffe, though the area adjacent to Yirgacheffe is the Hambela region. To travel to Shakisso, one generally does not pass through Yirgacheffe but heads south from the capital for about six hours to reach Yirga Alem town, then takes the left fork onto Highway 82 instead of the right road to Yirgacheffe, continuing southeast for another four hours to finally arrive at Shakisso (N 5°46'21" E38°54'9", altitude approximately 1,730m).

The Guji region's most famous economic activity in history has been gold mining, and the main gold-mining area, Kibre Mengist, sits near the northeastern side of Shakisso town. When traveling up and down the nearby mountains in search of coffee beans, there are many opportunities to pass through mining areas or come across remnants of stream gold panning. That real gold and silver industry makes a fascinating contrast with coffee, the "black gold" of today.

We have been following two key trends in recent years: one is the rise of the Guji growing region, and the other is the development of single-farm systems. This year looks like the moment both trends bloom together. Among the several trends shaping Ethiopian specialty coffee, an important one we discussed at our cupping session the year before last was the rise of the single-farm system. By Ethiopian regulation there are three coffee export systems: (1) the largest, private processing stations exporting through ECX bidding; (2) the cooperative system; and (3) the single-farm system. Of the three, cooperatives and single farms can export directly without going through ECX bidding, which gives them completely reliable traceability. Tracing back to the root, though, cooperatives still buy cherries from small farmers for centralized processing and are not 100% traceable. Single farms are ultimately the only path toward the next generation. Single-farm systems have in fact existed in Ethiopia for a long time, but their share has always been low, and traditionally they belonged to large commercial lots that did not prioritize quality. As Ethiopia emerged in the third wave of specialty coffee over the past two to three decades, a group of innovators influenced by Western culture began to appear alongside traditional coffee practitioners, hoping to bring change to the industry. Besides traditional exporters investing in cultivation at origin, there has also been a trend of people returning from Europe and America to invest in their hometowns. And how important is the single-farm system, which we will temporarily call the Single Farm Project, or SFP? We all know that Ethiopia is predominantly a small-farmer system, but that system cannot deliver complete traceability, single-variety batches, special-processing-method batches, customized batches and the other practical concepts that specialty coffee development depends on. Single farms are the only answer to all of these problems.

The Guji growing region also differs in many ways from the generally sought-after Yirgacheffe region. Location, terroir, ethnicity and language are all vastly different, and while the coffee flavors show Ethiopia's typical wonderful character, they also carry subtle differences. Guji belongs to Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, the Oromo, and uses the Oromifa language, while Yirgacheffe is the traditional home of the Gedeo people. Overall, the Yirgacheffe region became famous and was developed earlier, while Guji is a rising star. For one thing, Guji is larger, making it easy to find high-altitude, fertile virgin land protected by pristine forest. For another, Yirgacheffe has long been a battleground because of its fame, and most newly built processing stations or farms are in the Guji region. It is easy to imagine that Guji will be an important center of Ethiopian specialty coffee innovation in the coming years.

The washed batch shows distinct jasmine, lemon peel, coffee flower, bergamot, white pomelo and peach flavors: the exquisite, delicate character of washed Ethiopian coffee. The natural batch delivers our favorite tropical fruit-juice flavors of blueberry, mango and strawberry.

FrontStreet Coffee: a roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but a diverse variety of beans, where you can find both famous and lesser-known lots, with online shop service as well. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: Compare Washed and Natural Ethiopia

If the washed and natural Guji lots above have you curious, FrontStreet Coffee makes the comparison easy. Its washed Yirgacheffe is the classic starting point: white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity with a clean tea-like body, at a friendly price. Set against it the Sun-Dried Red Cherry from the same Yirgacheffe region, picked as fully ripe red fruit and dried on raised beds, which keeps the region's signature character while adding tropical fruit, a berry-juice texture, honey sweetness and a creamy smoothness. Brew either on a V60 with 15g of coffee at 90-91°C and a 1:15 ratio to taste both sides of Ethiopian coffee.