December 8

It doesn’t get much more memorable or special than sharing Pink Bourbon from the first farm in Colombia to cultivate such a rare and exotic variety. That’s exactly what we did with Viking Coffee back in July 2019.

Since that collaboration we’ve had many rare and exotic lots from Viking and have some to love their ability to roast such delicate coffees with mind blowing results.

Today we are proud to present our first Ethiopia, Arsosala, a washed processed coffee from the Guji zone.

(Words by Viking Coffee) About the region. Uraga is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Guji Zone, the largest town in Uraga is Solomo.

The coffee here is grown on very small farms (less than 1/2 hectare each on average) alongside corn, barley, beans, and wheat. Both Washed and Natural coffees are produced here.

Coffees in Ethiopia are typically traceable to the washing station level, where smallholder farmers—many of whom own less than 1/2 hectare of land, and as little as 1/8 hectare on average—deliver cherry by weight to receive payment at a market rate. The coffee is sorted and processed into lots without retaining information about whose coffee harvest is in which bag or which lot. 

Arsosala is a washing station founded in 2015 that currently serves about 1,200 smallholder producers in the region of Guji.

Most of the coffee delivered to the factory is Bourbon: while Typica and Heirloom are two varieties better-known in Central and South America, the same terms are used colloquially in Ethiopia to describe certain coffee-berry-disease-resistant cultivars. The Ethiopian “Heirloom” and “Typica” varieties are typically genetically removed from the ones found elsewhere around the world.

Cherries are picked ripe and dried on raised beds, taking anywhere from 8– 20 days, depending on the amount of sunshine available.

Region: Guji

Producer: Arsosala

Varietal/Species: Bourbon

Process: Washed

Roast Profile: Filter

Flavor: Strawberry Jam, Blackberry & Black Tea

Grab Yourself a bag here.