In our fourth year working with coffee from Mike Mamo and Telila CWS we had the pleasure of meeting Mike for the first time back in January. Telila carefully separates lots by kebele as they arrive at the station, an uncommon process in Ethiopia, that allows us to taste coffee from tighter geographic areas and gives an additional layer of transparency. This lot, which is from the Gure Kesso kebele, stood out on the cupping table in Addis Ababa with its bright, and expressive cup profile. This lot is predominantly made up of 74112, sometimes referred to as Serto. It was released in 1974 as part of a CBD resistance selection program. It is now one of the most planted varieties in Ethiopia.
This famous coffee growing region is known for its rich, volcanic soil. High altitudes, bi-modal rainfall patterns and dry weather which allows for coffee to develop slowly and consistently here.
74112 is one of six selections that were approved for release in 1974 as part of a CBD-resistance (Coffee Berry Disease) selection program. During the 1970's, researchers from the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre searched the forests in the Illuababora zone for CBD-resistant mother trees. Today 74112 has been widely distributed across most growing regions in the country.
This coffee was de-pulped using an eco-pulper, and was then wet fermented for 12 hours. After fermentation, the coffee was dried on raised beds.
