Single origin espresso
ETHIOPIA
GUJI JIGESA
SINGLE ORIGIN ESPRESSO

By The Coffee Department | May 02, 2025

The Variety

Jigesa
Our first release of fresh Ethiopia arrivals, this washed lot comes from the Jigesa [Jee-geh-sah] village washing station in Shakisso, Guji, where around 600 smallholder farmers deliver hand-picked coffee cherries each day. These farmers cultivate small, organically managed plots (averaging just 1 hectare) where coffee grows as the main cash crop alongside food staples, such as corn, grain, and bananas. Coffee grows under a canopy of shade trees native to the region. Farms sit at elevations of 1,800–2,050 meters and benefit from cool temperatures, creating ideal conditions that slow cherry ripening and contribute to denser, sweeter beans.

Premium Cherry Selection
The Jigesa Washing Station was established in 2015 by our export partners, Testi Coffee. To incentivize the use of best practices for growing, harvesting and processing coffee cherries, Testi pays a premium to farmers who pick and deliver only the ripest cherries from their farms. Coffees produced as part of the program represent the highest quality and cleanest cup profile available from the washing station and the wider region. 

Processing
At the Jigesa station, cherries are sorted by hand and in flotation tanks within 6–8 hours of harvest to remove unripe or damaged fruit before pulping. The pulped coffee is then graded by weight, with denser beans set aside for higher quality lots like this one. These beans ferment in clean water tanks for 36–48 hours to break down the mucilage, followed by re-washing and further density grading. A final 12-hour soak enhances clarity and sweetness. The water used for these processes comes from the nearby Mormora and Bishan Dimo rivers. 

During fermentation, mill workers monitor water clarity and parchment texture by hand to determine the optimal time to transfer the coffee to raised drying beds. There, the coffee dries for 5–7 days, rotated regularly to ensure even drying and undergoes further hand-sorting to remove any remaining defects.  

 

Look for

Black Cherry |  Baking Spice | Honey

Shot Specs

As always, our roasting approach is to maximize sweetness and fruit acids.  
A great starting point for your dial-in is:  
18 gram in | 47-50 grams out | 30-34 seconds

Shop this Post