Nano Genji is the newest coffee mill to emerge from the celebrated Agaro Project in Western Ethiopia. Originally funded by USAID in 2008, the Agaro Initiative introduced new coffee processing technology and education to the region’s farming communities, helping unlock the extraordinary potential of the coffee grown there. As coffee’s birthplace, it’s hard to imagine a more perfect place to grow it than the fertile native soils of Western Ethiopia, where thousands of wild landrace varieties still grow beneath lush forest canopies 2000 meters high in the Agaro Gera mountains. 

Through the knowledge and technical guidance provided through the Agaro Project, Oromo farming communities began to focus on quality and how to better cultivate the exceptional qualities inherent in their coffee. Improved processing brought greater quality, increased value, better prices, and improved livelihoods for hundreds of smallholder farmers. Today, we consider coffees from Agaro Gera among the finest in the world, and the Agaro Project is recognized as one of the most successful coffee development initiatives ever undertaken. 

We were fortunate to first visit the Agaro region in 2012, as the first wave of coffee mills were beginning to reveal the magic of coffee grown there. Longtime Flying Goat Coffee customers will recognize some of these mill names from past harvests: Yukro, Duromina, Nano Challa, and Kolla Bocha. Nano Genji is the newest star on that list—and the coffee is excellent! 

Ethiopia 

Washing Station :

Nano Genji 

Producer :

Smallholder farmers from the Kata Muduga Union 

Region :

Agaro Gera in the Jimma Zone 

Cultivar :

Mixed Ethiopian Landraces 

Elevation :

1900 – 2200 MASL 

Process :

Mechanically washed and soaked for 12 hours 

Drying :

10 – 12 days on covered raised beds 

Producer Partnership :

Since 2012 

Certified Organic