Gobena Bendo

Stone fruit, fresh citrus & orange blossom aromatics. Region: Yirgacheffe Process: Washed Varietals: Ethiopian heirloom varieties Mr. Gobena Bendo is a lifelong coffee farmer working a 10-hectare, garden-style plot inherited from his father, land he hopes will remain with his children. Coffee is the family’s principal source of income, helping meet essential costs such as healthcare and transport, while cereals grown on part of the farm provide food for the household. Mr. Gobena reports producing seven to eight quintals of coffee per hectare, supported by two part-time workers and his adult children, who live nearby. That continuity, from his father, through Mr. Gobena, and toward another generation, makes this more than a traceable microlot: it is the product of a family’s long relationship with one piece of land. Banko Gotiti lies in the highlands of Gedeb, within Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone, although its coffees are commonly traded under the celebrated Yirgacheffe name. At 2,200–2,300 metres above sea level, this is an exceptionally high-growing environment. It is also part of a remarkable cultural landscape: Gedeo farmers traditionally cultivate coffee beneath mature shade trees alongside enset, cereals and other food plants in a densely layered agroforestry system. UNESCO recognised the Gedeo Cultural Landscape as a World Heritage Site in 2023, describing it as a living example of Indigenous knowledge linking agriculture, forest stewardship and community life. The coffee itself comprises locally adapted Ethiopian landrace varieties (often broadly labelled “heirloom”) drawn from the extraordinary genetic diversity found in arabica’s country of origin. Roasted for filter by Assembly in Melbourne.