Kolla Bolcha - Agaro, Ethiopia

Kolla Bolcha is a newer co-op neighboring the Biftu Gudina cooperative, in the Agaro Gera woreda. Despite Agaro’s well-established excellence and widespread name recognition, the Agaro coffees we know and love today didn’t find their way to market until just ten years ago, after USAID’s Technoserve project invested in this region that was once known for less-than-stellar Grade 5 sundried naturals. Now with their new processing equipment, the community coffees are showcasing this washing stations unique character and improving the lives of those growing it in the process.

Thanks to Technoserve’s initial investment and the stellar leadership of Kolla Bolcha and Kata Muduga, Kolla Bolcha’s processing is immaculate, leading to an incredible showcase of the coffee’s natural potential. The Secret?

The cherries are pulped with Penagos processing equipment which mechanically removes most of the fruit and mucilage from the seeds. Coffee is then soaked overnight in fiberglass tanks, allowing any remaining sugars to be fully removed from their surface so that the coffees are perfectly clean by the time they hit the drying beds. Coffee is then dried for up to 8 + days.

Kolla Bolcha represents a collaborative investment to the fullest, bringing excellent coffees season after season and month after month.

This coffee was imported by Red Fox.

Tasting Notes:  Floral, shortbread, peach tea

Origin: Agaro Gera, Jimma, Ethiopia

Producer: Community driven, smallholder farmers from around the Kolla Bolcha washing station

Altitude: 1900 – 2200 masl

Cultivar: Heirloom varieties

Process: Fully washed & dried on raised beds for 20 days

Harvest: October - Jan