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Mikiyas Bogale's Gerse Washed Landrace
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Mikiyas Bogale's Gerse Washed Landrace

Mikiyas Bogale's Gerse Washed Landrace

$14.00

Mikiyas Bogale has been running his family's milling station for his sixth year. Along with washed lots, they'll also produce some experimental microlots, like white honey. However, their total volume is just 300 bags a year. In continuing his father's line of work, Mikiyas has carried on a dependable and consistent revenue stream for local Gerse producers in the area to sell their crop. We were overjoyed to be shared this lot from Hillary at Primavera because, unlike other buying experiences in the industry, this one was just as relaxed and easy as this cup profile is to drink. We really appreciated that rarity of an experience in a very competitive market for smallholder produced Ethiopian lots.

In the cup, we are greeted with a fairly traditional Yirgacheffe profile: bold, rich and tea-like. The brewing aroma has subtle white florals. There is strong bergamot and earl grey tea to the body. The overall experience is low acid, but the mouthfeel is richand honeyed. The dominant notes are vanilla and canned peaches. This cup is not overly complex or dynamic, but we bet it will be a bag you reach for often because of it's crushable profile and full-bodied sweetness.

This coffee launched on August 18th as part of Drop 11!
Farm and Producer

Mikiyas Bogale took over his family's mill in 2020 and has continued to provide a consistent and dependable channel for local producers to sell their harvest crop. His washing station buys from producers in the surrounding Gerse area. They produce just 300 bags a year so this is truly a smallholder and small producer operation.

The smallholders in Gerse primarily cultivate at 2000 - 2200masl. At the milling site, African raised beds get tree coverage from local trees like Wanza, Girar, and Weyira.
Coffee Varietal and Processing

This lot is labelled solely as landrace. Ethiopian landrace (a.k.a. heirloom) implies its any unclassified but native coffee variety to Ethiopia's forest. Since this lot is partially purchased coffee from as many as hundreds of farmers with less than a hectare plot of coffee, it's pretty rare to have genetic classification on these lots.

Ripe cherries are harvested on Mikiyas's plots and purchased from local Gerse smallholder producers. Coffee cherry is presorted by color and then depulped with an “Agard” local pulping machine. Then pulped seeds get density sorted. Sorted seeds enter open air concrete tanks for 48-72 hours, depending on weather. Coffee is washed and then dried on African raised beds to dry and handsort.
Cost Transparency

We were actively searching for different avenues to source African coffee this year. One thing we learned is so are many other roasters. From our perspective, other roasters also want smallholder or single farm producers to buy from in Ethiopia. The lots on offer from larger importers that cup well are sold fast. We did not even try to sample the ones we had seen there. Instead, we decided to branch out and reconnect with an importer we had met but weren't properly sized to buy from.

Hillary at Primavera recommended this lot and a different Ashenafi (another producer and mill station owner) lot based on the profiles we mentioned we were looking for. We really liked this specific lot and noticed there was another Gerse lot at the same warehouse processed as Black Honey and not washed. Of course, we immediately thought about and A/B comparison. To our surprise, we later found out that this was in fact a single producer / mill station owner, along with the Black Honey lot. We were overjoyed! For once, we tasted a lot without knowing score or acknowledging the marketing element that probably would've sold it for us beforehand, and still picked the cup over others. For us, it's was a little win that made us extra excited about this one. We picked the lot not for its acid, florals, or alt taste profile. In fact, it's pretty run of the mill in those departments. However, the mouthfeel is incredibly rich and syrupy, which alongside a tea-forward profile, made for an overly comfortable and crushable cup to us. Hopefully, you all can appreciate that as well!

Green cost: $16.17/kg (+$2.08/kg ship)
Package and roasting costs: $2.91/bag; $10/kg
Profile and sample use: ~0kg
Approx. Margin: --%
Brewing and Resting Recommendation

Resting: Wait 30 days for the Nordic and 40 days for the Ultralight to have a less gassy tasting experience. Degas the night before by opening bag and then sealing. We're impatient and think this has tasted peak flavor (but gassy) as early as 21 days after roast too.

We've primarily enjoyed this offering as a pourover.

Temperature range: 198-201°F
Water: Tap/Demineralized and Third Wave Water Light Roast
Grind Settings: Medium Coarse (700-750µm)
Target Drawdown Time: 2:45-3:00

4 Pour Recipe:
1. Pour 1/4 water every 30 seconds with high agitiation. Swirl the dripper on the bloom.
Drop Variants

Drops are typically prepared in two formats: a standard 100g / 200g bag offering at your preferred roast level or as a roast experiment.

  • Standard bag lets you support the producer, exporter, and the project without having to buy and drink coffee you're less interested in. You still get to observe and critique our roast methods at your preferred lightness but in larger quantities.
  • Roast experiment lets you participate in 3 blind tastings of 60g bags to evaluate 3 different roast curves. After the drops have been released, profile info and our own sensory feedback will be shared alongside any collected feedback from tasters.

Note that roast level selection does not apply to experiments sent out.
When will I get my order?

This is a side project that isn't in a place to pay our bills at the moment. We're actively trying our best in the two days we work on Base Coat a week to fulfill as quickly as possible. Volume has gone significantly up recently -- a great problem to have -- and we're doing our best to adapt. We roast every two weeks and try to get orders out within a week of your order placement. At latest, it takes us two weeks and if that is the case, expect an extra item in your bag as an apology.

Our times vary on roaster rental availability and our limited roasting schedule. We typically roast on two subsequent days twice a month. Once your order has shipped, you will receive an email with further information. Delivery times vary on location.
Return policy

Because we are selling an agricultural product with limited shelf life, we do not accept returns. However, our goal is for every customer to be absolutely satisfied with their purchase. If you aren't enjoying the experience, let us know in an Instagram DM and we'll do our best to work with you to make it right!

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