Notes: Apple, Dark Chocolate & Lemon.
Location: Djimma
Varietal: Heirloom varietal
Altitude: 1,700 - 2,000 MASL
Process: Natural
THE AREA
The Djimma region in southwestern Ethiopia is known as the birthplace of coffee. The story of the famous goatherder, Kaldi, is thought to take place in Djimma.
Farming methods in Djimma remain largely traditional. Most farmers in the region farm on fewer than 5 hectares (many counting their coffee farms in terms of trees rather than area). Cultivation methods re traditional for the most part, with coffee being grown as part of an integrated ‘coffee garden,’ intercropped with other food crops.
In addition to remaining traditionally intercropped, most farms are also traditional and organic-by-default. Farmers in Djimma typically use very few—if any—fertilizers or pesticides. Most farm work is done manually and very few tasks are mechanized, even
during processing.
The majority of coffees grown in Djimma are local landrace varieties (which are often also called Ethiopian heirloom). Other varieties grown in the region were developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC). JARC is an important research center for Ethiopia and has done a great deal of work on developing disease resistant and high yielding varieties that still demonstrate quality in the cup.
