Producer: Mr. Alemu Berasso Farm:   Alemu Berasso’s Single Estate Region: Banco Gotiti, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia Variety: Dega, Kurume, 74110, 74112 Coffee grade: Yirgacheffe Gr. 1 Process: Natural Altitude: 2035 masl Harvested: 2022   CUPPING NOTES:  Floral, Raspberry, Peach, Apricot, White tea, Jasmine. Acidity is medium-high, crisp and bright, well balanced with a medium tea-like body and lingering fruity finish.   Single Farm Ethiopian Coffee While Ethiopia is famous as coffee’s birthplace, today, it remains a specialty coffee industry dearest for its incredible variety of flavours. While full traceability has been difficult in recent history, new regulations have made possible the direct purchasing of lots that are now completely traceable, adding value for farmers and roasters alike.   Banko Gotiti is a village in the Gedeb district of Ethiopia's Gedeo Zone, where Yirgacheffe is located. Over the last number of years, the region has developed a reputation for fine coffee, producing some of the most sought micro-lots in the world. The combination of high altitude, fertile soil, consistent and abundant rain, and high levels of knowledge from locals are all contributing factors to the high status of Yirgacheffe coffee.   Mr Alemu Berasso is one of the earlier settlers of Banco Gotiti, and he remembers when the government people first introduced coffee farming in the early 1960s. He produces around 7000 kg of exportable green coffee from his seven hectares garden-style organic farm. Though most of his trees are now replaced by newer verities, Mr Berasso proudly grows 40 plus years old coffee trees that are as tall as a two-story building. He mainly kept them for their historical purpose, but he does think those old trees sometimes give more cherries than the younger trees.       The variety:   Dega is a regional landrace named for an indigenous tree. The wood of the Dega tree omits a sweet, fragrant aroma when burned for firewood, similar to the smell of coffee roasting. The Amharic word “dega” means “cool highland area,” which applies to the agroecological conditions where Dega coffee grows. Kurume is one of Ethiopia’s regional landrace varieties from Yirgacheffe. The Kurume tree bears small fruit with a good annual yield, similar to Kurume coffee’s small cherries and bountiful harvest. Kurume is a commonly grown variety among farmers in the Guji and Gedeo Zones, which includes Yirgacheffe. The coffee varieties 74110 and 74112 were developed in the 1970s at the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) for resistance to the coffee berry disease. These two varieties begin with “74” to indicate their cataloguing and selection in 1974.   Variety 74110 was selected from an original “mother tree” in the Bishari village, Metu Province, Illuababora zone, Oromia region. After researching its resistance to coffee berry disease and overall yield, JARC released the variety in 1979. 74110 trees are short and compact, with small leaves, cherries, and beans.   Variety 74112 also originates in the Metu-Bishari forest and was similarly released in 1979 for its disease resistance and yield potential. Its trees, too, are small and compact. Both varieties grow well in climates similar to those where the original mother trees grew.