Region: Worka, Yirgacheffe
Altitude: 2300-2350 masl
Coffee varieties: Heirloom
Process: Washed
Drying: Dried over a 10 day
Cupping notes: Dried Date, Apricot, Earl Gray
Cupping score: 87
The Shale washing station is located near the town of Worka, in Ethiopia’s Yirgacheffe region. This station represents nearly 1,500 nearby smallholder producers that deliver freshly-picked cherries throughout the harvest season, who grow a mix of heirloom Ethiopian varieties of coffee.
Coffees in Ethiopia are typically traceable to the washing station level, where smallholder farmers—many of whom own less than 1/2 hectare of land, and as little as 1/8 hectare on average—deliver cherry by weight to receive payment at a market rate. The coffee is sorted and processed into lots without retaining information about whose coffee harvest is in which bag or which lot.
Coffees are washed in channels, and graded in water by density. The lower density (lower quality) will float and are removed, leaving only the denser and therefore higher quality beans which are separated as higher grade lots.
After fermentation, soaking takes place for 2 hours.
Coffee is then piled up in layers which are 2cm in height and dried over a 10 day period then followed by hand sorting for 2-4 hours.