224 Ethiopia Gotiti Washed

"Gotiti"

The Gedeo Zone, located on the eastern side of the Yirgacheffe region, is divided into six districts, one of which is the Gedeb district. Situated 434 km from the capital Addis Ababa, it was once a remote area requiring nearly eight hours of travel by car until the opening of the Ethio-Kenya road in 2016, which has since reduced travel time to about three hours. This region is highly suitable for coffee production, with coffee planted on a quarter of the land.

The Gedeb district is further divided into 16 administrative divisions, one of which is Gotiti. The Gotiti Washing Station, owned by Ranger, a subsidiary of BNT, since the 2019 crop, aims to produce the best Yirgacheffe coffee to date. They have gathered skilled staff with appropriate wages, meticulously handling the processing and drying stages. During the drying process, they focus on thorough defect bean removal and slow drying education on African beds.

"BNT"

BNT is a local exporter in Ethiopia, handling high-quality coffee from Yirgacheffe. The company is led by two presidents, Bile and Teddy. Teddy first gained experience in the coffee business at another company and later invited his university classmate Bile, who was then working in international development, to establish BNT. Since their inception, their motto has been "PAY FAIR GET FINEST."

In the early days, the quality was not very high, and they struggled with financing. However, both founders loved visiting customers and drinking coffee, always listening to feedback and continuously improving their coffee. Today, they have exclusive contracts with 45 washing stations in Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, and Guji, while also owning several washing stations as subsidiaries. They ensure high-quality, uniquely characteristic coffee through practices like pre-harvest advance payments to farmers, harvesting ripe cherries, proper washing processes, slow drying, and precise sorting at their own hulling and processing plant. To further reduce defect beans, they have added a new color sorter and are expanding the plant for more space and improved production efficiency. Their willingness to adapt and embrace feedback has led to significant quality improvements.

This year's Gotiti offers a more pronounced peach-like flavor compared to last year, with a pleasantly lingering, clean sweetness. The roast is light. If the roasting time is too short, the flavor becomes overly simple, dominated by citrus notes. Therefore, I extended the time to first crack to allow for the development of stone fruit flavors. When you grind the beans, you're greeted with the characteristic floral aroma of Ethiopian coffee, which is truly soothing. The coffee delivers a refreshing citrus brightness and a juicy, peach-like taste. Even as it cools, you can enjoy the sweetness reminiscent of honey and tangerines, making it a delight to savor over time. Additionally, when served as iced coffee, it takes on a crisp flavor similar to lemon tea, which I highly recommend.