Abiyot Boru
Soft and creamy mouthfeel, ripe raspberry jam sweetness and apple acidity with notes of rhubarb, black tea, lemon myrtle and nougat. Very balanced, refined and elegant.
Abiyot Boru (pronounced “Ab-yet bu-ru”) originates from the Shakiso District in the Guji zone of Ethiopia’s Southern Oromia State.
Processed at the privately owned Abiyot Boru washing station, named after its owner Abiyot Boru, coffee cherries are produced and delivered daily to the station by around 700 small producers. These producers farm organically on small plots of land (averaging 2 hectares) at 1,650-1,800 metres above sea level
ABOUT THE GUJI REGION
Coffees from Guji were previously classified as ‘Sidamo’(a very wide geographical classification encompassing much of central-south Ethopia), however more recently they have been separated from this classification and recognised for their unique and distinctive cup profile. Coffees that are classified as ‘Gujis’ originate from the ‘woreda’ (administrative regions) of Adoola Redi, Uraga, Kercha, Bule Hora and Shakiso (where this lot is from).
Guji is named after the Oromo people, a tribe with a long, proud history in coffee production. Most communities in the region still live rurally and make a living from farming. Families usually live in modest homes (often a single round mud hut) and farm plots of land to grow both cash crops and food for their own consumption. Coffee remains the main cash crop for most families in the Guji region, who typically half a hectare to 1.5 hectares of coffee planted alongside food for consumption and other cash crops such as the Ethiopian banana.
VARIETY
This coffee is a blend of local varieties collectively known as ‘Ethiopian Heirloom’. All of these varieties are Arabica and most originate from a Typica predecessor, but with wild mutations that result in some exceptional and unique flavour profiles.
PROCESSING
This lot is classified as Grade 1, indicating that only superior quality coffee cherries from the Abiyot Boru Mill have been selected and processed.
Ethiopia has one main annual coffee harvest across all growing regions, occurring from November to January. To ensure only the very ripest cherries are selected, at least four passes are made during harvesting.
After the coffee cherries have been carefully handpicked, they are delivered on the same day to the Abiyot Boru Washing Station, where they are processed using the washed method.
The coffee cherries are then hand-sorted to remove any damaged or unripe fruit prior to the removal of the skin of the cherries by a disc pulper.
The resulting coffee is then graded by weight; heavier beans are superior quality and deliver a sweeter cup. After grading, the parchment-covered coffee is then soaked in tanks of clean water for 36-48 hours to remove the mucilage (sticky covering) by allowing it to ferment and detach from the coffee. The coffee is then re-washed and graded again by density in washing channels and then dried for 12– 15 days on African drying beds, firstly under cover, and subsequently under the sun. The coffee is covered at midday to protect from full sun and overnight to prevent damage from morning dew. To ensure consistent drying results, during this stage the coffee is carefully hand-sorted and turned regularly, a task usually undertaken by women.
WHY WE LOVE IT
Abiyot Boru (Sidamo Guji) Washed is a fine example of the distinctive and unique nature of coffee produced in this region. In the cup, it is complex and deliciously sweet, with a soft and creamy mouthfeel, ripe raspberry jam sweetness and apple acidity with notes of rhubarb, black tea and nougat.
