Boji Kochere, Ethiopia
Red Rabbit Coffee Co.
About this Coffee
Boji is a washing station located in
the Kochere woreda of the SNNPR region. It servwes 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.
Natural processing at the station follows the traditional Ethiopian methods. First, cherry is floated and visually checked for underripes, overripes and damaged cherry. After washing cherry in clean water, workers transfer cherry straight to the drying field.
They spread the cherries in a single layer. During the first few days, cherry is carefully turned every 30 minutes to ensure evening drying. This is also when workers remove any damaged cherry. After a few days, cherry is adjusted so that it sits in a slightly thicker layer, which helps slow the drying process. Drying typically takes between 2 and 3 weeks.
Grades in Ethiopia depend on visual inspection for defects and on cup quality. Grade 1 is considered the highest quality coffee. Grade 1 and 2 are considered specialty coffee, grade 3-9 are classified as commercial coffee. Grade 1 is free of cup faults and taints and has zero quakers.
Coffee in Ethiopia
While Ethiopia is famous as coffee’s birthplace, today it remains a specialty coffee industry darling for its incredible variety of flavors. While full traceability has been difficult in recent history, new regulations have made direct purchasing possible. We’re partnering directly with farmers to help them produce top quality specialty lots that are now completely traceable, adding value for farmers and roasters, alike.
The exceptional quality of Ethiopian coffee is due to a combination of factors. The genetic diversity of coffee varieties means that we find a diversity of flavor, even between (or within) farms with similar growing conditions and processing. In addition to varieties, processing methods also contribute to end quality. The final key ingredients for excellent coffee in Ethiopia are the producing traditions that have created the genetic diversity, processing infrastructure and great coffee we enjoy today.
Most producers in Ethiopia are smallholders, and the majority continue to cultivate coffee using traditional methods. As a result, most coffee is grown with no chemical fertilizer or pesticide use. Coffee is almost entirely cultivated, harvested and dried using manual systems.