Ethiopia

Wote

Washed process Ethiopian Heirloom, Yirgacheffe type

Flavour: apricot, earl grey tea

This coffee is from a private wetmill in the local community of Wote, in the famous Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia.

Yirgacheffe is known for its clean, floral and acidity-driven washed coffees and “high quality” sun-dried beans with genuine and unique fruit and berry flavors. And the Gedeo area where this coffee is grown has some of the most complex and intense coffee flavors in Yirgacheffe.

There are mainly small family plots of both recently planted trees of improved varietals and traditional old varieties. Organic fertilizer is common, pruning less common.

The producer is working closely with one of our partners to increase quality through systematic work at the wet mill. Coffee from this producer is available in limited amounts, and we’re excited to share some of the highest quality lots of this coffee with you in this delivery.

The Lingo

Ethiopian pronunciation is tricky, they’ve got a few sounds that don’t exist in English, but in case you’re wondering, Yirgacheffe is pronounced a little like Irga CH’EF-feh, and Wote has a soft sound, like wo-tay.

Let’s talk about processing

By now you’ve probably heard a few mentions of coffee processing, so let’s take a moment to talk about exactly what that is.

Wetmill workers sorting coffee cherries

The coffee cherries are hand sorted for unripes and overripes by the farmers before they go in to production. This is just the first of many times between picking and export that the coffee is hand-sorted to ensure consistency and quality.

The skin and pulp of the cherry is then removed, in the case of Wote wetmill this is done using a 3 disc Aagaard pulper.

Fermentation tanks

The coffees are then fermented under water for 24-36 hours, dependent on the weather conditions.

Grading channels

It’s then graded in washing channels in to two grades based on density.

It is then soaked under clean water in tanks for 12-24 hours.

Raised drying beds

The coffee is then sun dried for 10–15 days days sitting on hessian cloths, on raised African drying beds. The coffees are covered in plastic during midday and at night to protect them from the extremes in temperature, and raked often to ensure all the coffee is exposed to light and air as it dries.

This approach to drying allows air to circulate around the coffee, drying it more evenly, one of the factors that gives Yirgacheffe coffee it’s distinctive clean flavour.

While originally an African approach to drying, these raised beds are now being introduced to other coffee mills across the world to help improve quality.

Learn everything about this coffee:

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Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

• Dose: 20g ground coffee
• Yield: 60g espresso
• Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

• Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
• Labels: recyclable
• Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
• Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

Learn more:
Our packaging

Producer

Mr Mergya

Country

Ethiopia

Region

Gedeo, Yirgacheffe

Altitude

1800 – 2000m above sea level

Varieties

Ethiopian Heirloom, Yirgacheffe type

Process

washed

Harvested

January 2015

Importer

Silo/Nordic Approach

Body

Light

Acidity

Bright

Tasting notes

Apricot, earl grey tea

Roast style

Omni (filter + espresso)