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Guji is one of the zones of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Guji is named after a tribe of the Oromo people. Guji is bordered on the south by Borena, on the west by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, on the north by the Ganale Dorya River which separates it from Bale and on the east by the Somali Region. The highest point in this zone is Mount Dara Tiniro. Cities and major towns in this Zone include its administrative center,Nagele Borana. The Guji Zone was created in September 2002, when the upland woredas of the Borena Zone were split apart to create it. Guji coffee has been receiving a lot of attention from the specialty coffee world in the past several years, and for good reason.  Many privately owned washing stations have sprung up recently, in an area that has traditionally processed coffee using a natural (dry) method.  The quality of these washed coffees can be outstanding, which isn’t surprising considering the area’s close proximity to Yirgacheffe.  “Close” is relative speaking in terms of travel in Ethiopia, where 100 km can mean a 10 hour drive, but the variety of terrain and culture in that short distance is incredible. Guji is an administrative zone of the Oromia region of Ethiopia, which gained political definition in 2002.  Prior to that year, the Guji territory (named for the Guji tribe of the Oromo people) was a part of the Borena zone.  Guji Zone shares a border with the Southern Nations, Nationalities & People’s Region (SNNP,) which includes Gedeo Zone (where Yirgacheffe is located) and Sidama Zone. Despite being near to Yirgacheffe in location (as the crow flies,) we’ve seen a huge diversity of coffee profiles from Guji, ranging from the sweet lemon candy and floral tea you might expect from the area, to heavy green melon, peach and rose flavors.  The natural coffees from Guji can also be spectacular when cared for well, bringing syrupy fruit, marmalade, rosé wine and perfumed aromatics.

Washed best highland grown coffee Recognized as a district character flavor Set apart for exceptional citrus and floral flavor Has fine acidity Cup: bright Acidity, medium body Altitude: 1770 – 2200 m Raw: uniform, thick, medium to bold, oval in shape and compacted About the Yirgacheffe region Yirgacheffe is actually part of the Sidamo region in southern Ethiopia, but its exquisite washed coffees are so well-known that is has been sub-divided into its own micro-region. This steep, green area is both fertile and high – much of the coffee grows at 2,000m and above. At first glance Yirgacheffe’s hills look thickly forested – but in fact it is a heavily populated region and the hills are dotted with many dwellings and villages’ growing what is known as ‘garden coffee’. There are approximately 26 cooperatives in the region, representing some 43,794 farmers and around 62,004 hectares of garden coffee. The production is predominantly washed, although a smaller amount of sundried coffees also come out of Yirgacheffe. Around 85 percent of Ethiopians still live rurally and make a living from agriculture; each family usually lives in a modest home (often a single round mud hut) and farms their own plot of land, where they grow both cash crops and food for their own consumption. In Yirgacheffe, coffee is one of the main cash crops – covering from half a hectare to 1.5 hectares (the latter is considered big). This is usually planted alongside a second cash crop – often a large-leafed tree used in making roofs for  (and also shade provider for the coffee) known as ‘false banana’. This looks like a banana tree but isn’t – instead its thick stem is used to produce both a nutritious flour and a fermented paste that are staple ingredients (particularly across southern Ethiopia).  There is only one main harvest a year in Ethiopia – this usually takes place in November and December across all of the country’s growing regions. There are, on average, 4 passes made during the harvest period, and, in regions that produce both washed and naturals, the last pass is used for the natural coffee. Washed coffees are then generally pulped on the same day that they are picked (usually in the evening/night), sorted into three grades by weight (heavy, medium and floaters), fermented (times vary – usually between 16 and 48 hours), washed and then usually graded again in the washing channels. The beans are then dried on African beds, where they are hand-sorted, usually by women.

Coffee is Ethiopia’s natural resource that has been a major source of export income and topped its sell abroad trade for a long time. It is also strongly linked with the socioeconomic values of the people for many years. However, the country has not adequately benefited from the sector due to various reasons. Over twenty five percent of the Ethiopian communities’ livelihood expenses are covered by coffee. As well, about fifty percent of the nation’s coffee production is consumed locally and affirming the strong relation with the communities’ daily life. In the same way, it is obvious that the country is the origin of Coffee Arabic’a and its bio genetic. It is also the first famous coffee exporter in the country. 

The Coffee Exporter’s Guide THIRD EDITION Nu Buna Tetoo ❤❤❤ Ethiopian coffee drinking culture .Ethiopian cultural hospitality that’s been passed from generation to generation. Ethiopia’s coffee drinking culture, like its citizenry, is diverse. As anywhere else, people drinks coffee is part of culture, to get relaxation of a moment, to have chats with friends and neighbors, and some people drink coffee for health reason: Doctor’s recommendation. From the Ethiopian contexts, however, Ethiopian drinking coffee habit is part of culture and has ability to help people connected each other and it is a traditional tool to solve their community social problems. In some Ethiopian country side, for instance, where arranged marriage is practiced, the coffee ceremony is sometimes used as a way of choosing marriage mates and means of proofing their son’s fiancée or a future daughter-in-law if she makes a real good coffee, if she is a well trained traditional food maker, if she is a responsible person to take care of her husband and her entire families is a strong indication of being a good wife. Coffee drinking with friends and neighbors gathering moment has also the under stated purposes: It is used as a communication forum to share local news, gossip, social affairs, neighborhood concerns, solidarity, counseling and meditations over the coffee steaming. Drinking coffee with neighbors is a traditional hospitality for Ethiopian societies. Therefore, when one family makes coffee, neighbors’ or friends’ are expected to come to drink coffee is considered a mark of friendship or mutual respect and is an important example of Ethiopian cultural hospitality that’s been passed from generation to generation. When one make coffee, they send their male child messenger to go and knock on their neighbor’s door to invite them ”Nu Buna Tetoo” come join us for coffee drinks, is an invitation common verbal neighbor-to-neighbor communication slogan and the invitee will reciprocate later that day. It’s a tradition steeped in a community. By Kebede HAILE  

Exemplary quality coffees have a high intrinsic value with a fine or unique cup. Usually of quite limited availability. Mostly retailed under the straight estate or origin names. Usually very well presented washed coffees, including some superior washed Robusta’s, but also includes some naturals (Ethiopian Harare, Yemeni Mochas, and some Indonesian Arabica’s) and top organic coffees, which are usually, but not always, roasted by comparatively small firm and marketed through fairly exclusive outlets, e.g. retail coffee shops or bars and upmarket delicatessens. High quality or premium brands, good cupping coffees, well presented, but not necessarily visually perfect. Retailed both as straight origins and as blends. Includes good quality, well prepared organic coffees, and washed as well as superior quality natural Robusta’s. The market for this quality band is much broader and includes a good percentage of today’s specialty coffee. Also produced by leading multinational coffee companies and marketed through normal retail outlets such as supermarkets.  Mainstream quality, average quality, reasonably well presented, but certainly not visually perfect. Will offer a decent, clean but not necessarily impressive cup.

A young soul, so innocent and so delightful, age of 10 lives in Sidama zone. Israel Dingama, in his age is so strong, not physically but also mentally. He says “I want to go to school and play like the other kids. But now I’m at home helping my family in the house.”   This kid could be a great asset to his country also to his family if he went to school as he wished.   On top of providing jobs for the society, our company, wanted to give to the society for those kids like Israel Dingama to have access to clothes, food, school and on any other necessities.  Right now, Israel Dingama is at school like the other kids he wished to be part of.  Heleph1933 coffee Plc’s main focus is the society, to be there for them in anything they wish to have.

Coffee Crisis and the Birr Just a small window into how the current coffee price crisis has a real effect, not only on the lives of millions of farmers from producing countries, but in the economy of those same countries, and the lives of millions of their citizens. The market is wreaking havoc in the local economies of small countries which depend highly on the hard currency generated with coffee exports. Like Ethiopia. Today, the black-market rate for USD to Birr in Ethiopia has reached, if not surpassed, 43 birr per USD, while the official rate stands under 29 birr per USD. That’s a 50% premium. This time last year, with New York at 110 cts/lb, the black market was paying 34 birr per USD, a 26% premium over the official 27.25 Birr per USD rate. This reflects on the cost of everything in the country, from luxury cars to medicines, food or the industrial inputs the country needs to keep its economy going. This disfunctional exchange rate has a lot to do with coffee, the commodity we can’t live without, but that apparently, we don’t want to pay too much for. Coffee generates a big chunk of those US Dollars the country needs. But the international market is paying for Ethiopian natural coffees, the bulk of their production, around 78 cts/lb, when the production cost for this coffee is 105 cts/lb. Of course the situation is complex, and it is this “black market premium” what’s helping to protect farmers from the blunt of the price disaster. Farmers and middlemen still get paid around 93 cts/lb for this coffee when they deliver it to the Exchange. The loses are taken by the exporters, who then process this coffee, move it to Djibouti and sell it at 78 cts/lb. Sustainable? BY Pablo Martinez

Potential benefits for the producer, the agreements are usually long term and as such can help create price stability. This expectation of premiums allows producers to focus on the coffee instead of the marketplace, and to be able to pay for the extra effort it takes to maintain the quality. Exclusivity creates a certain sense of loyalty and communication between the producer and the importer/ roaster that may otherwise not be possible. It is also in the best interest of the receiving company that the quality is optimal – as such it may provide technical help and other assistance that would otherwise not have been available to the producer. Potential disadvantages for the producer, an exclusive arrangement may limit the coffee’s exposure. If it is with a smaller company or companies with limited market share, then the chance to create a broader consumer base is lost. This could imply that when the agreement comes to an end the producer is left with a coffee that enjoys only limited awareness and requires further effort to build market share. The producer is relying on one or a few companies to promote his coffee, but generally has no guarantee this will in fact happen, or that it will be enough to be effective. Even though it is also in the buyer’s best interest to ensure this, he or she may in fact not do so.

The profile of Ethiopian coffees will vary based on a number of factors, including variety, process, and micro-region and the diversity of coffee is 99% more genetic material that makes Ethiopians coffee different than in the entire rest of the world and holds nearly-legendary status. The term ‘specialty coffee’ originated in the United States. It was initially used to describe the range of coffee products sold in dedicated coffee shops, in order to differentiate these coffees from coffee generally available through supermarkets and other retail outlets. It is fair to say that ’specialty coffee’ has become a generic label covering a range of different coffees, which either command a premium price over other coffees or are perceived by consumers as being different from the widely available mainstream brands of coffee.