Ethiopia Dry Process Buku Abel

The coffee comes from small holder farmers in Kebele (town) Buku Abel, Guji Zone, a region of very altitude that ranges from 2100 to 2300 meters above sea level. The people in this region are known as Guji Oromo, and coffee farming has been a core part of the culture in the highland areas for many years. It's a distinct coffee from Yirga Cheffe, and Sidamo. Geographically, culturally, and in terms of cup flavors, these southern coffees have a different flavor profile while maintaining the same general characteristics; in the case of natural process, they are fruited, juicy, and aromatic. The station is privately owned by a family we've visited in previous years, but bought from for the first time this harvest season. They work with several hundred small farmers in the surrounding villages, and also process coffee from their own farm. We found three standout coffees, including Buku Abel, that exemplify the range of aromatic fruits often found in coffees from the region. The level of hand sorting for coffee defects at these sites is phenomenal, and plays a big part in the quality. Unripe coffee is removed upon delivery by both floating in buckets of water and by hand, and the sorting continues at the drying tables for 2-3 weeks. Removing unripe cherries is a key step in uniformity and clean cup flavors in the final coffee.