The Producers

Each season we select the best cupping lots sourced from farmers around the Wegida river in Yirgacheffe, which services the washing stations in the region. Wegida Blue is made up of a selection of these grade 1 microlots, each bringing the vibrant character of Ethiopian coffee to the table in distinct ways. The result is a unique cup which captures everything we love about Ethiopian coffee in one signature profile: intensely oral, citric, juicy and sweet.

The Art of Production

Shade grown cherries are delivered to the mill for careful sorting, to select only the ripest. The cherries are dried in the sun on raised African beds for approximately 12 – 15 days. In the daytime they are raked and turned periodically to ensure a consistent drying process. The cherries are covered between 12pm and 3pm to protect them from sun damage and at night time to protect it from rainfall and moisture. Once the coffee has dried to the right level it is milled, graded, sorted and thoroughly handpicked, before being bagged in GrainPro for export from the port of Djibouti.

The Region

The river Wegida runs through Yirgacheffe district, Gedeo zone, in the ‘Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ (SNNP) region of Ethiopia. It serves as a water source for many farmers and families in the region, also serving as the sole source for Aricha washing station. Over a number of years the region has developed a distinguised reputation for fine coffees, producing some of the most sought-after microlots in the world. The combination of high altitude (up to 2,200m in some areas), fertile soil, consistent and plentiful rains, and an abundance of local knowledge are all contributing factors to the high status of Yirgacheffe coffees. The indigenous ‘heirloom’ varietals – which grow wild in Ethiopia – are responsible for the unique flavour notes which make for an unusual but refined cup. When processed naturally through sun-drying these present as juicy and jammy stone-fruit flavours, oral notes and chocolate with a creamy body.