Muje Mesina, Ethiopia

Origin

• 🇪🇹 Ethiopia· Guji

Tasting notes

Character

• Funky

Region: East Guji Producer: SmallholdersSmallholderA farmer growing coffee on a small family plot — often under two hectares. Most of the world's coffee is grown this way, typically pooled at cooperatives or washing stations. Altitude: 1980 MASL Process: WashedWashed processThe fruit is removed from the seed before drying, usually with fermentation and a water rinse. Tends to give clean, transparent cups where origin character shows clearly. VarietyVariety (cultivar)The botanical subtype of the coffee plant — Gesha, Bourbon, SL28 — analogous to grape varieties in wine. A major driver of cup character alongside origin and process.: 74110, 74112, 74165 Tasting NotesTasting notesThe flavors a roaster perceives in the cup — 'jasmine, apricot, black tea'. Descriptive associations, not ingredients: nothing is added to the coffee.: Black Tea, Berry, Raisin About Muje Mesina Just 17 kilometres from Adola town in southern Ethiopia lies the village of Muje, a thriving coffee-growing community in East Guji. Here, nearly 2,000 smallholder farmers cultivate what is locally known as “garden coffee,” a testament to Ethiopia’s deep-rooted coffee culture. These farmers contribute to a legacy celebrated for producing some of the world’s most extraordinary coffees. Their harvests are delivered to the Muje Mesina washing stationWashing stationA central mill where many smallholder farmers deliver cherry for processing. In Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda the station name (e.g. Idido) often identifies the coffee., located beside the Awata River—a vital resource enabling the production of high-quality washed coffees. Ethiopian coffee is naturally organic. Traditional practices and native landraceHeirloom (Ethiopia)A catch-all label for Ethiopia's thousands of indigenous, largely uncatalogued coffee varieties — used when a lot's exact genetics are unknown. varieties thrive with minimal intervention, creating harmony between the coffee trees and their environment. This coffee is an excellent example, showcasing vibrant acidityAcidityThe bright, lively, fruit-like sensation in coffee — praise, not a flaw. Citric sparkle, malic apple-crispness, tartaric wine notes; light roasts preserve more of it., dense fruit flavours, and complex layers in the cup. Notably, the beans are smaller in size, a hallmark of coffee grown at high elevations where longer maturation results in exceptional flavours. Though small, these beans are densely packed with character. The Muje Mesina washing station spans three hectares and is equipped with 200 shaded drying beds and fermentation tanks. During the November harvest, only the ripest cherries are hand-picked and processed within 8 to 12 hours. The cherries are then fermented underwater for 48 to 72 hours, allowing their flavours to develop before being thoroughly washed, dried, and carefully turned over 8 to 10 days to ensure even drying. Station supervisors oversee each stage to maintain quality. Once dried to the ideal moisture level of 10 to 12%, the coffee is transported to Addis Ababa, where it undergoes meticulous cleaning, hulling, polishing, and sorting. Defects are removed using advanced colour sorters, and the coffee is sealed in GrainPro bags to preserve its fresh