Clifton Coffee Roasters: Ethiopia, Gelana Abaya Washing Station, Natural

These shade grown cherries are delivered to the mill for careful sorting, to select only the ripest. The cherries are dried in the sun on raised African beds for approximately 12 – 15 days. In the daytime they are raked and turned periodically to ensure a consistent drying process. The cherries are covered between 12pm and 3pm to protect them from sun damage and at night time to protect it from rainall and moisture. Once the coffee has dried to the right level it is milled, graded, sorted and thoroughly handpicked, before being bagged in GrainPro for export from the port of Djibouti.

Gelana Abaya is a district in Borena zone, in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, just on the border with the SNNP region and close to the town of Yirgacheffe. Over a number of years the region has developed a distinguished reputation for fine coffees, producing some of the most sought-after micro-lots in world. The combination of high altitude (up to 2,200m in some areas), fertile soil, consistent & plentiful rains, and an abundance of local knowledge are all contributing factors to the high status of Yirgacheffe coffees.

The indigenous ‘heirloom’ varietals – which grow wild in Ethiopia – are responsible for the unique flavour notes which make for an unusual but refined cup. When processed naturally through sun-drying these present as juicy & jammy stone-fruit flavours, floral notes and chocolate with a creamy body.