Uddeyi
ETHIOPIA
With its super clean and sweet coffees, Ture Waji has become a key figure in Ethiopian coffee production and processing. The agricultural entrepreneur, also famously known as “The King of Guji”, now owns a number of certified organic plantations and washing stations around Guji and dazzles us with such amazing coffees as Uddeyi.
Our coffee comes from the Oromia region of Ethiopia near the town of Shakisso. Part of the Guji Zone, named after a tribe of the local Oromo peoples. The Uddeyi farm and washing station, operated by Ture Waji (Sookoo Coffee), processes not only the plantation’s own crop but also the daily harvest of smallholders in the area. A smallholder cultivates an area of less than 1 hectare on average, with up to 1500 trees. 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.