Swerl Coffee Roasters - Mr. Bekele Gemeda Washed Heirloom | Ethiopia

Ethiopia — Bekele Gemeda Worka Ethiopian Heirloom (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍑 Ripe Apricots • 🍵 Iced Tea • 🍋 Sweet Lemon

DETAILS

• Producer: Mr. Bekele Gemeda
• Village: Worka, 13km from Gedeb town
• Region: Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
• Varietal: Ethiopian Heirloom
• Process: Washed
• Elevation: 1,780–2,100 masl

INTRO From Mr. Bekele Gemeda in the small village of Worka, Yirgacheffe — another single-producer lot from Cafe Imports' Single Farmer Project. Delicate and complex, this washed heirloom carries ripe apricot sweetness, an iced tea-like structure, and a bright sweet lemon lift. In the cup: ripe apricots, iced tea, and sweet lemon.

THE PRODUCER Mr. Bekele Gemeda farms 6.5 hectares of coffee in one part of Worka and another 3 hectares elsewhere in the same village. He works the farm full-time, assisted by his children, who completed primary education but couldn't find other work in town. As father of 11 children, he relies fully on income from the farm, which also supports his two elder married sons working alongside him. He was, by his own account, deeply grateful to see the care he puts into his coffee reflected clearly enough in the cup to have his lot kept separate — something still rare in Ethiopia.

This lot is part of Cafe Imports' Single Farmer Project, born from efforts in 2012 — a turbulent period in Ethiopia's coffee export history — when Cafe Imports worked with an established cooperative to bring some of the first truly farm-traceable Ethiopian lots to market. It was the first time a roaster could highlight an individual Ethiopian farmer by name, helping kick off the broader traceability movement now more common across the country. Samples go out to buyers, prices are negotiated on the farmer's behalf, and contracts are only finalised once the producer agrees to the price, with their name listed directly on it.

THE PROCESS This lot is Washed, a method that removes the fruit before fermentation and drying — allowing the Ethiopian heirloom variety's naturally delicate, tea-like clarity to come through, building the ripe apricot and sweet lemon character that define this cup.

THE CUP Delicate and complex — ripe apricot sweetness up front, an iced tea-like structure through the middle, and a sweet lemon brightness on the finish. A quietly exceptional lot from a farmer whose care shows clearly in the cup.

Flavour Notes 🍑 Ripe Apricots 🍵 Iced Tea 🍋 Sweet Lemon