Genji Challa | Ethiopia | Espresso

TL;DR:  delicious, light and clean! Even better than that, this coffee supports the funding of education projects around the Telila washing station, so it's delicious, light, clean AND smart!

Look, we could paraphrase the infomartion we were given, but we'd rather just let Osito, our wonderful import partner, say this in their own words:

Telila Coffee Washing Station (CWS) is owned and run by Mike Mamo, partner in Osito Coffee. The washing station was purchased in 2019 and in 2019/2020 the first harvest was put into operation.

With a real focus on quality control and experimentation, we are excited to be working with Mike and his team at Telila. In addition to producing impeccably clean washed lots, Telila also produces honey, natural, and anaerobic natural lots.

In the pursuit of improving quality, Telila is innovating in many exciting ways. For instance, where most washing stations build lots based exclusively on the processing method employed and the location the cherries were delivered to (i.e. the washing station name), Telila goes a step further and separates lots based on the kebele from which the cherry came.

Mike and the team also store all their parchment in hermetically sealed bags -a first for Ethiopia. Most of the cherry being delivered isone of two varieties; Gibirinna 74110 and Serto 74112. Both of these are from the Metu Bishari selections made in the forest of the same name in the Illubabor Zone by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) in 1974. 

They were selected for theirresistance to Coffee Berry Disease (CBD{no, not that CBD...}). Now, these aresome of the most propagated varieties in Ethiopia.

The Washing Station itself is located in Kecho Anderacha, Gera in the region ofJimma. The station is located at around 2,000 masl. Last year Osito added a donation of 10¢ for every pound purchased from Telila CWS to go towards kickstarting some much needed projects at Kacho Tulla Primary School, located near Telila CWS. Addis Exporter and Telila CWS continue to help manage these funds, along with school leadership, as well as continue to contribute to the school from money acquired through the sale of these coffees.

 

We've roasted this coffee to just let it sing. It's a real delight, and we just didn't want to get in the way. So here it is, in all of the glory we could manage for it. It's a little lighter than our usual espresso roasts, but that's to really let it show off just how juicy and clean it is, Mike and the team really are second to none when it comes to processing these coffees, and we wanted to show that off.

We roast our single origin espressos a little lighter than our blends, so we recommend a slightly different recipe to make sure you get the most from them:
 

• A starting ratio of 1:2.5, with a quick shot time to allow a fast flow rate of water and a clean, sweet, well extracted coffee.

for example:

• 18g dose
• 45g yield
• 25 seconds

 

From here we will tweak things to get the flavours to highlight things we like. Use this as your starting point and go wild!

 

Note: some domestic espresso machines can’t use a 18g dose. Please always follow your manufacturers instructions to avoid damaging your equipment.