Outpost Coffee Roasters: Ethiopia, Boji Washing Station, Natural

Boji is a washing station located in the Kochere woreda of the SNNPR region. It services around 500 smallholder producers. Kochere is a coffee growing area close to the town of Yirgacheffe, home to some of the most-loved coffees in the world. We loved this natural coffee for its brightness; surprisingly enough for a natural coffee! Red berries and a sparkling acidity shine right through that layer of syrupy sweetness that characterize a natural coffee.

Natural processing at the Boji station follows traditional Ethiopian methods. An initial cherry screening through flotation and a visual check holds back unwanted cherries. Boji is equipped with sorting tables and floating tanks to monitor the cherry quality at intake. The collection agent oversees the quality of the cherries before processing. For the natural coffees, they dump the cherries in a flotation tank first to clean off any dirt. Only the cherries that sink are accepted for the high qualities. Floaters are kept aside for separate processing for lower grades.

After cleaning, the workers carry the cherries straight to the drying field. They spread the cherries in a single layer and stir them twice an hour. During this phase, it is easy to pick out any damaged cherries that made it through the initial selection.  After a few days, they increase the thickness of the layer to slow down the drying a little. Total drying time can take up to three weeks under cloudy conditions, or two weeks with many sunny days.