About this coffee…

While Ethiopia is famous as coffee’s birthplace, today it remains a specialty coffee industry darling for its incredible variety of flavors. While full traceability has been difficult in recent history, new regulations have made direct purchasing possible. The importers that we work with partner directly with farmers to help them produce top quality specialty lots that are now completely traceable, adding value for farmers and roasters, alike.

The exceptional quality of Ethiopian coffee is due to a combination of factors. The genetic diversity of coffee varieties means that we find a diversity of flavor, even between (or within) farms with similar growing conditions and processing. In addition to varieties, processing methods also contribute to end quality. The final key ingredients for excellent coffee in Ethiopia are the producing traditions that have created the genetic diversity, processing infrastructure and great coffee we enjoy today.
Most producers in Ethiopia are smallholders, and the majority continue to cultivate coffee using traditional methods. As a result, most coffee is grown with no chemical fertilizer or pesticide use. Coffee is almost entirely cultivated, harvested and dried using manual systems.

Biya Faris is part of a cooperative group called Bashasha and his coffees have demonstrated the delicate florals and crystal-clear acidity which Bashasha is best known. Before joining the Bashasha group, Biya sold his coffee as cherry to the Hunda Oli Cooperative, who then processed the coffee. Thanks to the 2017 law that allows individual producers to sell directly to exporters, Biya now processes his own coffee and garners a higher price for the final product.

Biya started selling his coffee direct in 2018/2019, and the profits from the first few years of direct trade have enabled him to reinvest in his farm. In 2019 he built 8 new drying beds and bought new mesh to help protect drying cherry. 
The increased revenue and importance of coffee has also tangibly inspired Biya to invest not only money, but also more time and care into his coffee. Biya now has access to training in cultivation and processing higher quality cherry. Above all, he has an assured buyer for all his coffee, not just the top lots. Biya’s farm is small, but is still relatively large by Ethiopian standards. His 10.3 hectares feature a number of coffee varieties, all of which he cares for carefully. Many of the methods he uses are organic by default, as agricultural inputs have historically been hard to access.

In addition to coffee farming, Biya keeps cows and honeybees for additional income. After selective handpicking, cherry is laid to dry on Biya’s 18 drying beds. During the harvest, Biya employs 16 people to carefully handpick ripe cherry and 6 people to inspect and maintain the drying beds. The employees working at the drying beds turn drying cherry frequently to ensure even drying. They use this opportunity toremove any unripe, overripe or damage cherry. 
Cherry dries for an average of 15 to 20 days. Then, dried cherry rests in a warehouse on Biya’s farm for 30 days before it is transported to the dry mill in Addis Ababa.

Origin: Ethiopia

Region: Djimma

Town: Bashasha

Farms: Biya Faris

Altitude: 1900 - 2100 masl

Varietal: SL14

Processing: Natural

Tasting Notes: Dried Fruit & Dark Chocolate