Your Cart is Empty
Ethiopia Worka Sakaro
Blackberry jam, dark chocolate, pineapple and jasmine
$21.60 - $62.40
Expression
Tasting Notes
Blackberry jam, dark chocolate, pineapple and jasmine
Acidity
Mellow Bright
Sweetness
Subtle Pronounced
Body
Light Full
Origin
Country
Ethiopia
Region
Gedeb District, Gedeo Zone
Producer
Worka Sakaro Washing Station
Farm
596 Smallholder Farms
Craft
Variety
Kumie, Siga, Wilsho
Process
Anaerobic Natural (Wine Process)
Fermentation
4-5 day vacuum-sealed anaerobic fermentation in stainless steel canisters followed by 15-21 day raised bed sun-drying
Elevation
2,000-2,200 meters
Roast Level
Lighter Darker
Expression
Origin
Craft
Tasting Notes
Blackberry jam, dark chocolate, pineapple and jasmine
Acidity
Mellow Bright
Sweetness
Subtle Pronounced
Body
Light Full
Country
Ethiopia
Region
Gedeb District, Gedeo Zone
Producer
Worka Sakaro Washing Station
Farm
596 Smallholder Farms
Variety
Kumie, Siga, Wilsho
Process
Anaerobic Natural (Wine Process)
Fermentation
4-5 day vacuum-sealed anaerobic fermentation in stainless steel canisters followed by 15-21 day raised bed sun-drying
Elevation
2,000-2,200 meters
Roast Level
Lighter Darker
This Ethiopian is the jam
We get layers here. Blackberry sweetness on dark chocolate, with bright pineapple and jasmine lifting a syrupy body. Anaerobic fermentation builds a creamy, yogurt-like undertone that grounds the whole cup. Tropical fruit and florals surface as the cup cools.
Gedeb sits at the southern edge of the Gedeo Zone, technically outside Yirgacheffe woreda but classified under that name by Ethiopia's commodity exchange. Processors here argue their profiles are distinct from traditional Yirgacheffe. The cup backs them up: there's a tropical fruit intensity and body in these anaerobic lots that you don't find further north.
Inside the wine process at Worka Sakaro
Tracon Trading's Worka Sakaro station is their largest facility: 360 drying beds on nearly 5 hectares, serving 596 smallholder farmers. The anaerobic "wine process" uses vacuum-sealed stainless steel canisters for 4-5 days of fermentation, favoring lactic acid bacteria that build the creamy body and berry-forward cup. Cherries then sun-dry on raised beds for 15-21 days until moisture reaches approximately 11%.
The farmers grow indigenous heirloom cultivars, Kumie, Siga, and Wolisho, under shade canopy that includes nitrogen-fixing Birbira trees and Cordia Africana. Both species are documented to improve coffee quality and soil fertility. It's a farming system that produces the coffee and sustains the landscape at the same time.
A coffee landscape the UN declared irreplaceable
The Gedeo agroforestry system earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2023 while simultaneously landing on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Coffee and Ensete (false banana) are the two pillar crops: coffee for economic livelihood, Ensete for nutrition. The Gedeo people specifically intercrop them, a practice that distinguishes their farming from other Ethiopian groups. That vertical layering is what makes the system work and what makes it fragile.
The system covers over 90% of Gedeo Zone's land area and supports one of the highest population densities in Africa at roughly 500-700 people per square kilometer. Fifteen Ensete plants can feed a family for an entire year. It's a landscape where density and biodiversity coexist because the farming method requires both.
Brewing Guides
Brew Ethiopia Worka Sakaro like we do - here’s how.
Highlights clarity and acidity; best with precise grind, flow control, and flat or conical brewers.
| Brew Ratio | 1:15 (e.g., 20g coffee to 300g water) |
| Grind | Medium-fine (like sand) |
| Water Temp | 92°C / 198°F |
| Total Brew Time | 2:30 – 3:00 min |
| Yield | 290–310g |
Use a V60 or conical dripper with slow pulse pours. Lower temperature preserves the fermentation-driven berry and tropical fruit aromatics.
Full immersion with coarse grind; great for body, sweetness, and lower-acidity profiles.
| Brew Ratio | 1:15 (e.g., 30g coffee to 450g water) |
| Grind | Coarse (like sea salt) |
| Water Temp | 92°C / 198°F |
| Total Brew Time | 4:00 – 4:30 min |
| Yield | 400–450g |
Stir gently after pouring. Full immersion rounds the bright acidity and deepens chocolate and berry integration.
Pressure extraction with fine grind; isolates intensity, structure, and balance.
| Brew Ratio | 1:2.25 (e.g., 18g coffee to 40g espresso) |
| Grind | Fine (like powdered sugar) |
| Water Temp | 92°C / 198°F |
| Total Brew Time | 28 – 32 sec |
| Yield | 36–40g |
Pull at reduced temperature to preserve berry complexity. Dense and jammy as a straight shot. Pairs with oat milk to soften the acidity.
Try coffees like this one, on your schedule.
The Rotation is your coffee membership. Every order is a different single-origin, roasted to order and shipped within 48 hours. Explore our full lineup and find you next favorite.
You set the schedule, adjust or cancel anytime.
The wine process is an anaerobic natural method. Ripe cherries are vacuum-sealed in stainless steel canisters and fermented for 4 to 5 days in an oxygen-deprived environment that favors lactic acid bacteria over the aerobic bacteria that dominate open-air fermentation. After fermentation, the whole cherries sun-dry on raised beds for 15 to 21 days until they reach target moisture.
Ethiopian landraces are indigenous varieties adapted to local microclimates through centuries of natural selection in specific growing regions. Kumie (also spelled Kurume) produces small cherries with consistent yields and notable sweetness. Wolisho is tall with large cherries and floral aromatics like jasmine. Siga is a hyper-local Gedeb landrace that reflects the frontier state of Ethiopian variety documentation.
Standard fermentation exposes coffee cherry to open air, allowing aerobic bacteria and wild yeasts to break down mucilage over 12 to 48 hours. Anaerobic fermentation seals cherries in oxygen-deprived containers, suppressing aerobic activity and favoring lactic acid bacteria. The shift in microbial population produces different organic acids and aromatic compounds. The 4 to 5 day anaerobic period here is substantially longer than standard washed fermentation, giving lactic bacteria time to build layered complexity.
The wine-like quality comes from lactic acid fermentation in oxygen-deprived conditions. Lactic acid bacteria produce compounds similar to those in malolactic fermentation in winemaking, where sharp malic acid converts to softer lactic acid. The 4 to 5 day sealed fermentation at Worka Sakaro washing station creates this conversion, and the blackberry jam, dark chocolate, and jasmine layers develop during 15 to 21 days of raised-bed sun drying.
This coffee comes from 596 smallholder farms delivering cherry to the Worka Sakaro washing station in Gedeb District, Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia. The farms sit between 2,000 and 2,200 meters, growing indigenous heirloom cultivars under shade canopy with nitrogen-fixing Birbira trees and Cordia Africana. Gedeo's combination of extreme altitude, volcanic soil, and centuries-old landrace cultivation makes it one of the most concentrated specialty coffee origins in Ethiopia.
