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

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Ethiopia Guji Kayon Mountain Farm Single Farm Natural & Washed Micro-batch

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 entire farm covers approximately 300 hectares, of which about 200 hectares remain pristine preserved forest. The Kayon Mountain Farm is located in the premium Shakisso/Shakiso growing area of Guji, more than 500 kilometers from the capital Addis Ababa. The Guji growing region is actually located on the eastern side of Yirgacheffe, but the area adjacent to Yirgacheffe is the Hambela region. To travel to Shakisso, one generally does not pass through Yirgacheffe but travels 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! Moreover, the main gold mining area, Kibre Mengist, is located 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 encounter remnants of stream gold panning. The real gold and silver mining industry presents a fascinating contrast with coffee, the "black gold" of today.

As we have observed and pursued 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 seems to be the year when these two trends bloom and shine brightly. Among several trends in the development of Ethiopian specialty coffee, an important trend and prediction we discussed with everyone at our cupping session the year before last was the rise of single farm systems. If you recall, according to Ethiopian regulations, there are three coffee export systems: (1) The largest system of private processing stations exported through ECX bidding; (2) The cooperative system; (3) The single farm system. Among these three systems, cooperatives and single farms can export directly without going through ECX bidding, which can be said to have completely reliable traceability/product history. However, if we trace back to the root, cooperatives after all purchase cherries from small farmers for centralized processing and are not 100% traceable. Single farms are ultimately the only possibility for moving toward the next generation. Single farm systems have actually existed in Ethiopia for a long time, but their proportion has always been low, and traditionally they have belonged to large commercial batches that do not prioritize quality. With Ethiopia's emergence in the third wave of specialty coffee in the past two to three decades, in addition to traditional coffee practitioners, Ethiopia has gradually seen a group of innovators influenced by Western culture who hope to bring change to this 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'll temporarily call Single Farm Project, or SFP)? We all know that Ethiopia is predominantly a small farmer system, but the small farmer system cannot achieve complete traceability, single variety batches, special processing method batches, customized batches, and other very important practical concepts for specialty coffee development. Single farms are the only answer to all these problems.

The Guji growing region also has many differences from the generally sought-after Yirgacheffe region. Location, terroir conditions, ethnicity, language, and so on are all vastly different, while coffee flavors, while showing Ethiopia's typical wonderful flavors, also have some subtle differences. Guji belongs to Ethiopia's largest Oromo ethnic group and uses the Oromifa language, while Yirgacheffe is the traditional residential area of the Gedeo people. Overall, the Yirgacheffe region became famous and was developed earlier, while Guji is a rising star. On one hand, the Guji area is larger, making it easy to find high-altitude fertile virgin land protected by pristine forests. Furthermore, Yirgacheffe has long been a battleground due to its fame, and most newly built processing stations or farms are in the Guji region. We can easily imagine that Guji will be an important center for Ethiopian specialty coffee innovation in the coming years.

The washed batch showcases distinct jasmine, lemon peel, coffee flower, bergamot, white pomelo, and peach flavors—exquisite and delicate washed Ethiopian characteristics. The natural batch presents our favorite tropical fruit juice flavors of blueberry, mango, and strawberry.

FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse variety of beans, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online shop services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

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