Origin: Ethiopia
Region: Guji
Sub region: Oromia
Washing Station: Buliye Washing Station
Altitude: 2050 - 2100 meters above sea level
Variety: Ethiopian Landraces
Process: Natural Uncertified Organic
Tasting Notes: Soft and delicate with notes of strawberry, red grape, plum jam and Belgian chocolate.
Hambella Wamena is a district within the Guji Zone in the Oromia Region. Located south of Addis Ababa, the Guji region, named after the Oromo people who have farmed coffee there for generations, boasts a long-standing tradition in coffee cultivation. Coffee grown in Ethiopia is naturally organic, as landrace varieties harmonise with the environment, providing organic fertiliser and natural pest control.
Yednekachew Seleshi is a third-generation coffee producer, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who has been in the coffee sector for the past 52 years. Yednekachew has come together with 240 local smallholder farmers from the region to produce this lot. The farms cultivate local landraces that are naturally processed. They are named after Geda Bali, a prominent local farmer who collaborates closely with Yednekachew's company.
The coffee is meticulously hand-picked and post-harvest, it is dried on African raised beds, a process that takes between 12 to 15 days. Processing takes place at the Buliye washing station, established in 2013 in the town of Buliye. For export, the coffee is packaged in high-barrier liners and standard jute bags.
Yednekachew and his team conduct biannual training on coffee quality control from hand-picking to transportation, incentivising farmers to bring high-quality red cherries. They also support the local community by providing school materials, sponsoring a football team and offering organic compost to farmers.
Yednekachew’s company is vertically integrated, controlling every stage from sourcing coffee from local smallholder farmers to processing and trading. The company is also a member of Women in Coffee Ethiopia and the International Women's Coffee Alliance (IWCA). They hold the prestigious Cup of Excellence (COE) 2020 award and are in the process of obtaining RFA and Organic certificates.
