Ethiopia Agaro Jimma

Cupping Notes

Agaro Jimma is a bright and well-structured cup. The underlying sweetness is reminiscent of white honey, which is mildly fruited in flavor, and a note of ginger chew candies. It also has a mild citrus note, along with jasmine flower, and Earl Grey tea accents. This years' lot has a dense mouthfeel.

Score: 90
Processing: Wet Process
Varietal: Heirloom Varietals

Farm Description

This coffee is part of an initiative Coffee Shrub has in Ethiopia to work directly at the coop level. The program was originally administered by a non-government organization who not only coordinate agronomists and managers for each of the coops they work with, but also have a business advisor assigned that helps the cooperative manage their debt, re-invest in quality improvements at the mill, and verifies distribution of income to all members. This is a key position; they have never known a coop to get this kind of expert advice from outside ... not in Africa at least. A cooperative can make all kinds of quality improvements, turn out fantastic coffee, and sink deeper in debt all the while. Cooperatives often fail to return a fair and full amount of payment to their farmer-members. Often this is from poor management, and sometimes from graft as well. They've since "graduated" from this program, and are now part of an independent, local Union who assist the cooperatives with functions like marketing, exporting, and general representation on an international scale. This is a smaller cooperative coffee mill near Gera town in the Agaro area, Western Ethiopia. (The area also has some of the finest honey available in Ethiopia). With this lot they can verify that the great price  paid will result in a fair distribution of funds, a better managed coop, investment in the mill, and even better coffee next year! The farms are in Goma Woreda, with altitudes between 1900 to 2100 meters.

Description from Coffee Shrub.