HAMBELLA

FLAVOUR PROFILE

WILD, WINEY & JUICY - ORANGE SWEETS, KIWI, RED WINE

ORIGIN

DERI KIDAME, HAMBELLA, GUJI, ETHIOPIA

FARM

GUJI HAMBELLA

FARMER

SMALLHOLDER FARMERS

PROCESS

CARBONIC MACERATION - WINE PROCESS

VARIETY

ETHIOPIAN HEIRLOOM

MASL

1900 - 2150

This Grade 1 micro-lot comes from the Guji Hambella station in Deri Kidame, a village in the Hambella district of the Guji zone. The smallholders who supply Guji Hambella usually farm no more than 2 hectares around their homes, at altitudes of up to 2,125 masl.

This process is called the wine process because its techniques were borrowed from winemaking, although similar methods are found in many products made by controlled fermentation. In short, the cherries ferment in sealed, oxygen-free stainless-steel tanks with careful temperature monitoring.

First the cherries are sorted so that only the ripest are processed. They are then placed in a stainless-steel tank fitted with a special water-filled fermentation valve. As fermentation begins, CO2 is released and builds up in the tank. When the pressure inside exceeds atmospheric pressure, the CO2 pushes through the water in the valve as individual bubbles. The valve keeps outside air from entering the tank, allowing an extended fermentation while reducing the risk of spoilage and negative fermented flavours.

The process usually lasts 4–5 days, after which the cherries are dried the traditional way on raised African beds for 15–18 days. Once dry enough, they rest and are then taken to the central dry mill in Addis Ababa for secondary processing (hulling, grading, sorting and hand-picking).