Shafeta

Mango, yellow nectarine and milk chocolate with a lingering sweetness.

For many years, Bekele Kachara has cultivated coffee on his 10-hectare farm in Ethiopia’s Sidama Region, near Murago village. Using shaded pre-drying beds, his methods emphasise sustainability and quality. He hires seasonal workers for selective harvesting and drying, drawing on years of experience at local washing stations to refine his processing techniques.

Sidama is a southern region of Ethiopia renowned for producing distinctive, high-quality coffees.

It is also home to stunning natural forests that not only provide a scenic backdrop but also a vital local food source. They provide an abundance of the Ensete ventricosum plant, also known as the

‘false banana'. Coffee trees are intercropped with these Ensete, which help to preserve the natural ecosystem and enhance sustainability.

Bekele Kachara is dedicated to environmentally friendly farming practices, using natural materials and avoiding pesticides and chemicals in agricultural production.

1. Ripe cherries are handpicked and undergo an initial floating and sorting.

2. Anaerobic fermentation: Cherries are sealed in plastic containers at 24 degrees for 96 hours.

3. Place cherries on drying beds for 20 days. Drying technique:

a) Cherries are rotated approximately every 20 minutes from days 1-3, then rotated approximately every 40 minutes from days 4-20.

c) Cherries are shaded between 12:30 and 2 pm (peak sunlight hours) and overnight.

4. Coffee is then rested for two months before being sent to Addis Ababa for final packaging before shipment.