Worka Sakaro Washing Staion is located in the Gedio Zone.
The washing station works with over 400 smallholder
farmers in the region. These farmers grow their coffee on
the steep mountain slopes at approximately 2,000 to 2,200
meters above sea level. The coffee is grown in the shade of
Birbira, Corsica Africana, and Ensete Ventricosum trees. The
coffee is picked when the cherries are ripe and then dried on
raised beds for 18 to 21 days. Once the coffee is dried it is
then milled to remove the husks and stored in a local
warehouse before being transported for final processing
before shipment.
This lot follows suit with the wave of groups now
experimenting with various methods of anaerobic
processing. It follows all the same steps as a typical naturally
processed coffee, except after the coffee is floated, it is
placed into special plastic bags, flushed with carbon dioxide
and nitrogen gas, and monitored over 3-7 days until
fermented adequately (this varies based on mucilage content
and environmental conditions). Once the cherries reach the
desired pH and color, they are removed from the bags and
transferred to drying tables to complete the process.
