Description
The Gora Kone washing station
In Ethiopia, names are often descriptive, and can tell you a lot about a place. The name Gora Kone is no exception. It breaks down into Gora, meaning “mountain”, and Kone, meaning “hump”. It describes the location perfectly – a mountain that rises like a cattle hump over the surrounding forests.
In the river valley below this mountain sits the Gora Kone washing station, and from the many small farms dotting the mountainsides come the cherries that eventually become Gora Kone coffee. Just as the hump provides some of the tastiest meat, the mountain gives the farmers some of the area’s best coffee.
Located in the Refisa kebele of Nensebo district in Ethiopia’s West Arsi zone (Oromia region), Gora Kone sits in an area just north of the Sidama province. Unsurprisingly, the flavor profile of Nensebo’s coffees is much like that of Sidamo coffee, and Gora Kone shares the same traits – complex, with floral notes, and sometimes a touch of citrus. Therefore, even though it is not from the Sidama region, Gora Kone coffee is classed as a Sidamo coffee.
The Land of the Gora Kone Farmers
The Nensebo area is relatively new in the world of Ethiopian specialty coffee. However, it is an area with very high potential. Over 70 percent of Nensebo is covered in hills and mountain ranges, and close to a quarter of the land is arable or cultivable. More than half the district is covered in forest. Farmers here have grown coffee as a cash crop for years, sometimes side by side with local crops such as teff, enset (false banana), and wheat. The trees that are endemic to the region – acacia and wanza (Cordia Africana) – provide a natural shade, creating an ideal environment for coffee trees. The high altitude (1900 to 2050 m.a.s.l) helps create a coffee bean that is uniform in size and packed with flavour.
The Gora Kone washing station receives its red cherries from 600 to 1000 farmers in the area (there is seasonal variance in the number of farmers who bring their cherries to the washing station). Most of these farmers have small fields, many below four hectares in area. Many of the Gora Kone farmers are from the Oromo ethnic group, but a small number of Sidamo farmers live and work in this area too.
Flavor profile
We note down clean, bright flavors with bergamot, orange, peach; a sweet classic Sidamo cup.
Gora Kone
Region: West Arsi – Refisa Kebele District
Country: Ethiopia
Altitude: 1900 – 2050 masl
Varieties: Mixed Heirloom
Process: Washed
We note down clean, bright flavors with bergamot, orange, peach; a sweet classic Sidamo cup.
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