Region: Tega Village, Ethiopia
Variety: Heirloom
Importer: Cafe Imports

FROM THE ROASTING TEAM
Our roasting team was really excited to bring back this coffee! Brian was lucky enough to meet Ahadu a few years ago. We were excited to highlight all the lovely sweetness and acidity in this sample that we received. For our roasting approach we started with a steady amount of heat, then gradually lowered it as maillard reactions started. This elongated the sweetness and acidity in the cup, producing those delicate notes that our coffee team is loving.

THE STORY
In 2007, Cafe Imports head of sourcing and CEO, Jason Long, cupped a coffee from a western region of Ethiopia not very well-known then for high-quality coffee, and it inspired him to venture outside of sourcing in Yirgacheffe, Sidama, and Harrar for the first time. The coffee turned out to be from a single farm, Tega & Tula Specialty Coffee Farm, established in the year 2000 by Ahadu Woubhset. Tega & Tula are actually two adjacent farms, named after the two nearby villages of Tega and Tula, found in the woreda, or district, of Gibo, in Kaffa, Ethiopia. The total farm area is 500 hectares in size, with nearly 400 hectares planted in coffee.

The farm is certified organic and produces both Washed and Natural coffees, and it not only has a wonderful flavor profile but also full traceability down to the producer—and nowadays down to the "block," or subplot. Ahadu is an entrepreneur who was a founding member of the executive team at the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, who left the ECX and decided to invest in a farm himself in order to produce entirely specialty coffee. He found the perfect spot in the famous Kaffa Zone, which is considered the absolute birthplace of Arabica coffee, and decided to start up an operation that aimed to preserve the natural beauty of the area, support the local community, and of course produce fantastic coffees. Today, Tega & Tula Coffee Farm is an anchor relationship for Cafe Imports, and every year the lots and the traceability get better.

This particular block is called Kewo, and is a 49.82-hectare subplot located in the Tega farm. This is the block where the coffee nursery is located, as well as the washing station. It's also surrounded by UNESCO heritage forests. It was planted and/or renovated in 2000, 2001, and 2004, and has 74165 and 74110 coffee varieties. The coffee called 74110 was developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center in the 1970s, bred for their profile as well as fo their resistance to disease, pests, and drought. The variety 74165 is a commonly distributed cultivar whose mother plant came from a CBS-resistant selection discovered in Metu-Bishari.

Tega and Tula

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Tega and Tula

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