Country: Ethiopia
Region: Konga, Yirgacheffe
Varietal: Heirloom
Process: Natural
Altitude: 1,870 MASL
Cupping Notes: Blackberry, Honey, Lemon
Recommended Roast:City to Full City+
Good For:Pour Over, Auto Drip, Espresso, Blends

Description: We’ve visited the Konga kebele (village) a handful of times, typically making a stop any time we are in Yirgacheffe and it’s always such an incredible time. Not only are the people so kind, but also multiple times we’ve had our most memorable Ethiopia Coffee Ceremonies in Konga. I’m not positive if they have a specific method or recipe to their coffee ceremony, but two years in a row it was the best coffee we had on the entire trip. Growers here are typically very smallholders, farming in what is essentially their backyard, along with other crops that they either sell or utilize themselves.

Drying a naturals at the Konga Washing Station is done slowly on raised beds, taking roughly 20 days depending on weather conditions, which is great for the stability of the green coffee. For the first day of drying, coffee is kept in a single layer and moved twice an hour to make sure that this delicate part of the drying process is done uniformly. After 3 days of this drying protocol, coffee is stable enough for drying in layers of 2 until it reaches ideal moisture content. Once finished, it “conditions” in the warehouse for about a week before being hulled.