There are coffees that surprise you, and then there are coffees you come back to because they're just exactly right. A great washed Ethiopian belongs to the second category. Bright, clean, layered, the kind of cup that never feels like you've had enough of it. Raro is that coffee for us this season.
It comes from the Raro Boda Wet Mill, located in the Uraga district of Ethiopia's Guji Zone, a part of the country that has quietly established itself as one of the most exciting origins in Ethiopian specialty coffee. The station sits at elevations ranging from 1,900 to over 2,300 meters, where the altitude brings cool temperatures that slow cherry maturation significantly. That slow ripening concentrates natural sugars and produces exceptionally dense beans with the kind of complexity and sweetness that makes Guji coffees so compelling.
Between 250 and 700 smallholder farmers deliver cherry to Raro Boda each season, cultivating indigenous landrace varieties, Wolisho, Dega, and Kurume, alongside JARC selections 74110 and 74112. These are ancient, locally adapted varieties that have been shaped by this specific landscape over generations.
The mill is operated under the oversight of SNAP Specialty Coffee, founded in 2008 by Negusse Debela Weldyes — an entrepreneur who came to coffee after discovering specialty pour-overs in the United States and never looked back. SNAP manages multiple wet mills across southern Ethiopia, runs its own dry mill in Dukem for tight quality control, and has built schools, roads, and healthcare clinics for the communities around their processing sites. Quality control at Raro Boda is handled by Q-Grader Medhin Tamiru, a national judge for the Cup of Excellence — a level of expertise that shows in the cup. We source this coffee through our friends at The Coffee Quest.