From Our Importer:
The Heri Agena lot comes from Karamo Coffee’s sourcing area in Heri Agena, located in the Bura zone of Sidama, Ethiopia, at elevations of 2,380 to 2,500 meters above sea level—among the highest coffee-growing elevations in the world! The area has limited coffee production (Only 200 bags in total each harvest), making this a very rare micro-lot. The lot is contributed by 500 smallholder farmers who cultivate local heirloom varieties, including the prized 74158, with exceptional care and attention to detail.
For the Honey process, fully ripe cherries are hand-selected and carefully de-pulped using a Penagos machine, leaving part of the mucilage intact. The coffee is then slowly dried under shade on raised beds for 22 to 25 days, depending on the weather.
In the local language, Heri translates to “Live,” and Agena is the name of a mountain near the station… a fitting name for a coffee grown at such extreme elevations, where the land itself seems to touch the sky.
Karamo Coffee was founded in 2020 by Niguse Gemeda, a farmer who grew up in the coffee-rich landscapes of Bensa and Bura with over 25 years of experience as a commercial coffee supplier. It wasn’t until 2015 that he decided to pivot towards specialty coffee.
In 2020, Niguse participated in Ethiopia’s inaugural Cup of Excellence, and won first place with a natural lot scoring 91.04, named “KARAMO.” This triumph inspired the company’s name and mission: bridging Sidama’s generational farmers with specialty coffee. Karamo trains station workers in precision drying and defect removal while supporting smallholders through knowledge sharing on organic practices and selective harvesting.
We began working with Karamo Coffee in 2026, and their dedication to quality and consistency has us thrilled for what is to come.
Photos courtesy of The Coffee Quest.
Water Recommendation:
For those of you who want to get every last drop of excellence out of this coffee, our preferred brewing water (at least for cupping) is full strength Third Wave Water (130ppm GH, 40ppm KH), though Rao/Perger water (90ppm GH, 42ppm KH) is not far behind.
Full-strength Third Wave Water gives the most jammy, fruit-forward sweetness.
Half-strength Third Wave Water (65ppm GH, 20ppm KH), which is nearly identical to Lance Hedrick’s Light & Bright water (60ppm GH, 25ppm KH), gives a much more acid-driven cup profile that skews a bit sour, without enough roundness to provide balance. This is a more citrus-heavy brew.
Rao/Perger water gives an excellent flavor profile that is just a little less jammy than full strength Third Wave Water. If you prefer a little more nuance at the slight expense of sweetness then this water would be the one for you.
Philadelphia water (Baxter water supply) filtered with a three-stage carbon system with a little softening (somewhat similar to what a Brita pitcher would do) also gives an excellent cup profile, most similar to full strength Third Wave Water, but there is a slight generic brown coffee note that isn’t present with a custom built water.
If this is all very confusing—check out our blog post on water for coffee!
