Ethiopia Gesha CM Natural

Region: Bench Maji
Variety: Ethiopian heirloom
Process: CM Natural
Altitude: 2500 MASL

Roasting machine: Stronghold 

Cupping Profile: Blackberry, Raisin, Rum

Gesha Karmachi Farm

The Bench Maji region in southwestern Ethiopia boasts the largest remaining wild forests in the country. The Gori Gesha Forest in this region is said to be the birthplace of the Gesha variety, which rapidly gained attention in the 2010s. Consequently, coffee from the previously overlooked southwestern Bench Maji region has gained global recognition as a producer of outstanding coffee, owing to its warm climate, rich natural environment, and diverse ecosystem.
Trabocca Trading, which exports Ethiopian specialty coffee and operates washing stations throughout Ethiopia, was captivated by the beautiful natural environment of the Bench Maji region and established a washing station there. In 2017, they also established two of their own farms, Gera Farm and Gesha Karmachi Farm, in the area to advise local farmers and disseminate production techniques.

Gesha Karmachi Farm is located 15km from the Gori Gesha Forest at an altitude of 1800-1980m. The 150-hectare farm produces approximately 600 bags of coffee annually, and approaches are being made to increase production by cultivating seedlings from the Gori Gesha and Gesha 1931 varieties indigenous to the Gesha Forest. Fifty employees work at this farm and washing station, striving with conviction for the coffee from this region to become a new option for high-quality Ethiopian coffee.

Carbonic Maceration

Harvesting is not only done by selective picking based on appropriate ripeness and color, but also by re-sorting after harvesting to achieve a more uniform ripeness. Afterwards, the cherries are transported to their Bench Maji washing station, where they are put into tanks filled with water to remove lighter floaters and impurities.
For this carbonic maceration natural lot, the cherries were briefly dried on African beds after floater removal, not for the purpose of drying, but to drain excess water, before proceeding to the carbonic maceration process.
Carbonic maceration is a process that evolved from anaerobic fermentation, where cherries are placed in stainless steel tanks, and then the tanks are filled with carbon dioxide before fermentation.
For this lot, the fermentation process took 10 days, with temperature and pressure monitored, in tanks located in the washing station's cool warehouse, where temperature fluctuations are minimal.
The final decision is made by checking the pH value, color, and aroma of the beans, and once completed, they are moved to African beds for the drying process.
The African beds include not only typical sun-drying beds but also shaded African beds with roofs. These are used in combination depending on the drying conditions and objectives, and the moisture content is carefully adjusted over 20 to 30 days until the coffee is finished.