About This Coffee
This coffee is cultivated by farmers in the Sakaro farmers’ group. Farmers deliver their cherry to Girma Eshetu station, run by Girma Eshetu, one of our partners for our Lalisaa program.
Sakaro is one of several farmers’ groups delivering to the station. In order to keep lots separate, each farmers’ group has several designated days of the week when they deliver their cherry. Lots are kept separate and traceability is well documented.
Station owner Girma Eshetu is a man of many talents and the owner of numerous enterprises. One such enterprise that we are excited to collaborate with is his Girma Eshetu Station. The station produces both washed and natural coffees. Girma is involved in coffee in more than one way and also manufactures and sells pulping machines locally.
Coffee in Ethiopia
While Ethiopia is famous as coffee’s birthplace, today it remains a specialty coffee industry darling for its incredible variety of flavors. While full traceability has been difficult in recent history, new regulations have made direct purchasing possible. We’re partnering directly with farmers to help them produce top quality specialty lots that are now completely traceable, adding value for farmers and roasters, alike.
The exceptional quality of Ethiopian coffee is due to a combination of factors. The genetic diversity of coffee varieties means that we find a diversity of flavor, even between (or within) farms with similar growing conditions and processing. In addition to varieties, processing methods also contribute to end quality. The final key ingredients for excellent coffee in Ethiopia are the producing traditions that have created the genetic diversity, processing infrastructure and great coffee we enjoy today.
Most producers in Ethiopia are smallholders, and the majority continue to cultivate coffee using traditional methods. As a result, most coffee is grown with no chemical fertilizer or pesticide use. Coffee is almost entirely cultivated, harvested and dried using manual systems.