Uraga

The Uraga Solomo washing station collects the daily harvests of around 900 nearby smallholders. The coffee cherries arriving at the station are first sorted by hand, then placed into special plastic bags. Oxygen is then vacuumed out of the bags, creating an anaerobic environment. After around 18-24 hours into the fermentation process, CO2 will start to build up pressure in the bags. Over the 16 days of fermentation, the red cherry colour is changing to yellow. Once carefully removed from the tank, the coffee is dried for 15-18 days on African drying beds without shade. Later the beans are transported to Addis Ababa where the final hulling, sorting and export preparation takes place.