Girma Tamiru | Ethiopia

Description

High in the hills of Yirgacheffe, Girma Tamiru tends 2.5 hectares of heirloom coffee in Idido. At around 2,170 metres, coffee grows beneath the broad leaves of enset, sharing the land with a plant that sustains everyday life.

Ethiopia is coffee’s home. Across the Gedeo region, generations of farmers have cultivated gardens in layers: trees overhead, coffee and enset below. Food, shade and livelihood share the same ground, guided by knowledge passed down through generations.

Enset is often called ‘false banana’ for its familiar leafy form. Its nourishment lies elsewhere: in the starchy leaf bases and underground corm, processed and fermented to make kocho, a traditional food cooked into bread. On Girma’s farm, its leaves offer shelter to the coffee; its harvest offers sustenance.

From November to January, around 100 seasonal workers join the permanent team. For this lot, whole cherries spend nine days fermenting in barrels under anaerobic conditions, followed by 13 to 18 days drying on raised beds.

In the cup, Sorrento lemon meets blueberry. Bright citrus, soft fruit. A welcome pause, with something to return to.

Text from Mecca Coffee Company's listing.