About this Coffee
Genji Challa is a sister washing station to the famous Nano Challa, and just a few miles away from the Nano Challa station.
This station was opened as the membership grew and volumes of coffee cherry being delivered became too much for the capacity of the Nano Challa station alone.
There are now over 600 members split between the two sites, situated in the natural forests of the Ethiopian highlands.
This success and growth originates from the fortunes of Nano Challa being boosted in 2010, when they were chosen to be part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded, Technoserve Coffee Initiative alongside other remote farming communities in Jimma. Technoserve provided technical assistance and training to producer groups, coordinates agronomists and business advisors to help improve coffee quality and assists in the management of debt, reinvestment and the fair distribution of funds to each co-op member. The impact of the initiative was huge, as it helped co-ops like Nano Challa transition from natural processing to washed, through the building of washing stations. This opened them to a wider market and gave access to the premiums of Grade 1 Ethiopian Specialty Coffees.
Farm members cultivate coffees at altitudes between 1850 and 2100 metres, on average they own around 3 hectares of land each. Most of the coffees grown locally are organic by default, and consist mostly of naturally indigenous heirloom varieties, punctuated by smaller areas of an improved native varietal called 1274.
Once producers deliver coffee to the washing station, cherries are floated, before being de-pulped using a Penagos Eco Pulper.
The coffee is then soaked in clean water in concrete tanks for 8 hours before drying; firstly skin-dried and sorted under shade, before being sun dried for approximately 10 days on raised African drying beds.
We love the vibrant citric and tropical acidity this coffee has along with the complex tannins and lingering tea-like aftertaste.