Aricha

Our coffee comes from the the privately-owned Shantawene washing station that collects the daily harvests of around 1600 nearby smallholders. A smallholder cultivates an area of less than 1 hectare on average, with up to 1500 trees. The use of chemicals and pruning of shrubs is not typical, so the crop can be considered organic by default. The coffee cherries arriving at the station are sorted by hand and then placed on raised drying beds in thin layers. The cherries are turned every 2 to 3 hours in the first few days to avoid over-fermentation and mold growth. Depending on the weather conditions, 4 to 6 weeks later the beans are transported to Addis Ababa where the final hulling, sorting and export preparation takes place.