Beshasha, Ethiopia

Description

This coffee was grown using organic practices by Mustefa Abekano, a small-holder from the Jimma Zone of western Ethiopia. He grows a diverse range of coffee varieties sourced from the esteemed Jimma Research Centre. In order to conserve water, his washed coffees are lightly fermented in water for eight hours rather than repeatedly washed, before being dried. This gives the coffee a light honey sweetness.

In 2018 Mustefa grew his business by opening the Behasha wet mill where he can process his own coffee and that of other local small-holders, and started to trade directly with buyers thanks to regulatory changes. This means that he and the producers they work with are able to retain more of the value of the coffee they produce. He has also established a warehouse for producing natural process coffees and set up additional purchasing sites where local farmers can take their coffee to be sold, allowing more small producers to access his growing export network. More recently he has been working with Harun, an agronomist who has been training Mustefa and other local farmers in various methods such as using shade netting to protect the coffee, optimising cherry selection, and monitoring moisture levels during drying to improve the quality and consistency of the coffee they produce.