Tagel Alemayehu - Ethiopia

Tagel Alemayehu operates a washing station in Hambela, high within the Guji zone, where he processes coffee from 130 registered outgrowers. Tagel has deep ties to specialty coffee in southern Ethiopia: he grew up the son of a coffee trader; managed one of the first specialty natural stations in Guji; and founded an exporting business, Olkai, that operates six stations throughout the south. The smallholder farmers contributing to this station grow at very high altitudes — nearly 2,400 masl in some cases — and produce incredibly dense cherry. This particular lot is a vibrant representation of the washed Guji profile: juicy stone fruit and rippling acidity framed by a tea-like but structured body and long finish.