Ethiopia Gogogu

Whole bean coffee

We roast to order on Mondays and Wednesdays and ship the same day. Orders will be included in a roast if they’re received by 4pm Eastern Time the day before.

Origin: Ethiopia
Region: Guji
Sub-region: Uraga
Producers: Various smallholding farmers
Elevation: 2340 masl
Process: Washed, dried on raised beds
Varieties: Ethiopian Landraces
Tasting notes:  Raspberry, oolong tea, blood orange

Gogogu is a coffee processing mill in the town of Dida Haro Hada Raro, located in the Uraga district of Guji, Ethiopia. Producing coffee in the area presents a number of challenges. Local growers have an average farm size of only 1 - 2 hectares, and transport their coffee cherry to Gogogu by way of pack animals on dirt roads that can be hazardous in the rainy season, traveling 30 - 90 minutes each way.

The local rainy season used to last only a few months each year, but climate change has stretched the rains across nearly the entire year. This change complicates picking and transportation during the December to February harvest season, forcing producers to take advantage of rare sunny days to harvest and deliver as much as possible, with those opportunities becoming increasingly rare.

Farmers grow local landraces and prodigiously intercrop their coffee trees with false banana, maize, and local tree species as shade crops, which are selected based on the age and needs of the coffee trees. The sandy loam soil is fertile and drains well, supporting the production of high-quality coffee without the need for fertilizer. Despite all of the challenges they face, farmers in this region are highly regarded for their dedication, deep-rooted coffee knowledge, and outstanding quality.

This year’s crop from Gogogu tastes to us like raspberry, oolong tea, and blood orange.

Transparency

This is our eighth year sourcing coffee from Ethiopia through Red Fox Coffee Merchants. We wrote a forward contract with Red Fox to buy 5 60kg bags of Gogogu. We scored an arrival sample of this coffee 87.25 points and paid $5.85/lb EXW.

Photo credit: Red Fox Coffee Merchants

Click here for more information on the coffee supply chain.