Ethiopia - Bensa Logita (Washed)

Our sensory notes for this year's “washed process” Bensa Logita: Citrus fruit and floral fragrances preface an overall sweet and complex cup having jasmine, lemon & lime character but with undertones of black tea, cardamom, honey and vanilla

This is one of our favorite coffees, year after year, by Heleanna Georgalis. From Moplaco's Logita station near the Segera village, in Bensa Sidamo.

To process this coffee using the "washed method", fruits were selected from local farmers surrounding Moplaco's Logita station, at an altitude of about 2100 meters above sea level. The fruits were depulped using a disc-style depulping machine, fermented for 36 hours to loosen up the sticky mucilage covering the seed's parchment, then washed and scrubbed down channels before being moved to elevated beds where they were dried in the sun over the next 11 days.

Heleanna Georgalis of Moplaco is known for her relentless commitment to quality. Her farming and processing practices are the gold standards. When we met Heleanna, in 2013, during a panel about World Coffee Research's study and collection of Ethiopian Heirloom varieties, we were immediately drawn to her passionate personality and friendship began to grow from there.

Moplaco was founded in 1971 by Heleanna's father Yannis Georgalis, third-generation coffee professional who moved from Greece to Dire Dawa, Harrar, during WWII. Finding a new home in Ethiopia’s Orthodox community, Yiannis became the third generation in his family to work with coffee, embracing it with passion, talent, and dedication. After starting in coffee at age 12, Yiannis became a legendary player in Ethiopian coffee. When he passed away from a heart attack, he passed the Moplaco legacy on to Heleanna. She returned to Ethiopia to continue the legacy of coffee in her family, taking over the family land and continuing to grow and improve both the family business and Ethiopian coffee as a whole. Through years of hard work and meticulous focus, she produces some of the brightest, most complex coffees we’ve ever tasted, and we’re excited to be able to share them with you.