Coffee: Ethiopia Geta Bore

Description: Light Roast. We taste nectarine, gardenia meringue. 

Location: Jimma Zone, Agaro
Producer: 75 smallholders
Process: Washed
Varietal: Heirloom 74110, various
Altitude: 1990 - 2100 MASL

Geta Bore Cooperative consists of 75 producers based near Agaro. They’re a recent addition to the Kata Muduga Union—a group of the leading coffee cooperatives in the West of Ethiopia. Sitting 8km south of the well-known Biftu Gudina cooperative, members of Geta Bore previously delivered their cherry to Biftu Gudina or other nearby washing stations but elected to form their own cooperative to reduce the difficulty and cost of transporting fresh cherry as well as to have a stronger role in the cooperative governance structure. Thanks to these changes they can more easily access training services from Kata Muduga, and through the Union’s model they receive both a cash payment upon cherry delivery plus a 2nd payment after coffee export.

The Union itself arose from the work of the NGO Technoserve to help better represent the producers within the Jimma region, with a handoff by the Oromia Union once the governance structures were in place. These Unions have a standard model in Ethiopia: buy coffee at the auction price, sell coffee to a buyer and collect 20% of the profit as service fees. From there they split the remaining profit 70/30 with the coops they bought from. Unions are generally known in Ethiopia as FTO suppliers. Coffees that move through the ECX do not carry certifications, so the only place that you can get certified options are Unions and private farms. In return for those service fees, the Union administers and coordinates the agronomists and managers for each of the 27 cooperatives which they work with, but also has an assigned business advisor who helps the cooperative manage its debt, reinvest in quality improvements in the factory and verifies the distribution of the income for all its members. Geta Bore is small but steadily growing, now in its third year of operation.

With arrivals from Africa winding down, this coffee is nothing less than timely. A complex layering of florality and sweetness lends itself to nectarines, apricots, gardenias, and jasmine. Although we only crept this coffee into what we’d consider the end range of light, there’s still yet a marshmallowy meringue-like finish that pairs well with a comfy robe on chilly mornings.

12 oz bag of beans.