Ethiopia Melka Gumie - About the Producer
This month, we're focusing on celebrating International Women's Day throughout the whole of March through our Roaster's Choice subscription.
Women are, without question, the backbone of the coffee community.
Lets look at some statistics.
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70% of the global workforce is provided by women.
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20-30% of women in the global workforce own and operate their land.
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Specifically in Ethiopia, 75% of coffee workers in Ethiopia are women.
When we analyse this statistics, it isn't to shame anyone or show us to be a saviour, but rather to educate further on gender equality across the supply chain. Coffee production in many cases means the only option to support their family, yet less than half of these producers earn a substantial income, have limitations around land ownership and restricted access to training and resources. Supporting women produced coffee is an absolute necessity for a more sustainable future in coffee production.
Despite these challenges though, women producers have shown remarkable resilience, stepping into leadership roles, forming cooperatives and advocating for their rightful place in the industry. The growing participation in training programs and cooperative leadership is a promising sign of change.
SO! For this months Roaster's Choice, we have sourced a stunning microlot produced by Melka Gumie, a smallholder female producer from Harfusa, Yirgacheffe. Yirgacheffe is a renowned and sought after region of Ethiopia, known for it's traditional flavour profile of the country offering floral, citrus and delicate flavour notes.
Melka's farm sits at an altitude of 1,890 metres above sea level, cultivating sub-varieties of Kurume, Dega and Welisho. Traditionally, Heirloom was used as a blanket term for unidentified landrace varieties though recent efforts by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) have allowed for better classification of varieties like Wolisho, Kurume, Dega, and 74110, among others.
We wanted to honour Melka Gumie’s contribution to the community by naming this coffee after her and continue to be a part of this sustainable change.Chipp Coffee Co. Roastery Update
February has seen SOME sunshine peeking through the clouds in lovely Leeds, we've seen the end of some gorgeous coffees that we will properly miss (honourable mention to Fizzy Drop & Party Bag), prepping and gathering new lots to get ready for release AND we've got some sensational brews just landed on the shop that are all unique in themselves.
Firstly, we cannot stress enough that Tropical Rey; is maybe our favourite coffee of the year so far. Pineapple, Mango Sorbet and Campino candies. What more can we say?
We've also sourced a couple more new Colombia lots, Mundo Novo from long term friend and co-founder of LaREB - Herbert Peñaloza. This naturally processed Sidra is from Herbert's flagship farm 575 packed with sweetness, boozyness and a great example of the exceptional work LaREB do. Oh did I mention Tropical Rey was also sourced through LaREB? Anyway.
Next we've got Sweet Penny 2.0 - for those of you who remember this coffee from last year, we had a washed process Pink Bourbon. This year, we've found a worthy replacement from producer Jhon Wilmer from Finca Las Brisas. This time, it's a natural processed Ombligon, a variety that has been cropping up (pardon the pun) over the last few years with similar characteristics of a Geisha varietal. It's FULL of sweetness, juicy lips, foam banana, fizzy bottles - it's party time in your mouth!
And finally, we're releasing a beautiful lot from the remote region of Sierra Mazateca in Oaxaca, Mexico called Candy Cloud. This coffee has really blown us away on the cupping table in the last couple of weeks, it's reminding us of an Ethiopian coffee in some ways! It's a washed process Typica & Bourbon variety, offering a smashable, wonderful + vibrant acidity with notes of blackberry, pear drops and delicate florals.
What We're Listening To
Nubiyan Twist
We've been rinsing Leeds natives Nubiyan Twist for the last month and reaaaaaaally loving their new singles from their upcoming project.
To prepare yourself for Spring just around the corner, we recommended brewing some of this month's Roaster's Choice and playing this at full volume. We reckon everything will be bright with that combination!
