Demicha, Ethiopia

At some of Ethiopia’s most extreme altitudes lies Guji’s Uraga region, a dense, mountainous forest that spans almost a thousand miles. Within this immense forest lies an array of distinct subregions, where we source some of the most extraordinary and sought-after coffees we see anywhere in the world. Uraga coffees are profoundly nuanced with a piquant florality and a bright, complex acidity like lime and bergamot backed by stone fruit sweetness like a ripe peach. When we taste Guji coffees, we look for that taste that we describe as almost scallion-like when fresh, which ripens into that unparalleled florality on arrival.

This year, we’re even more excited about Uraga due to a new sourcing partnership with an old friend: Dagne Chomen of Welichu Wachu. Years ago, Dagne ran QC for the Oromia Cooperative Union. We connected way back then and spent a ton of time cupping together. Like many other critical supply chain partners we met through Oromia Union, Dagne moved on, worked for private exporters for a few years, then more recently opened his central washing station Welichu Wachu collecting coffee from all over Uraga’s vast forests.

Dagne himself is from Wollega, which is Oromo territory and lies closer to the Sudan border. Through his time with the Oromia Union he worked extensively in Guji, which is also Oromo territory. He has an intuitive and specific understanding of Uraga, which lies at the center of Guji, and built his centralized washing station in an area called Muda Tatesa that sources from elevations as high as 2300 masl. He’s buying coffee from all the areas we’ve known and loved in Uraga in the past, as well as some new ones: Yabitu Koba from Feku Jebril, Demicha (which means honey in Oromifa), and Muda Tatesa where the mill is located.