Ethiopia Sidama Natural

Coffee Background

Sourcing Details:

Changes in the Ethiopian export rules have opened pathways to develop relationships with vertically integrated suppliers. Royal has seized on the opportunity over the past few years to work with emerging small businesses looking to sell their coffee directly. Accordingly we have access to this particular Ethiopian lot which has two of our favorite components, traceability to the fabled Sidama region and exceptional supply chain partners. This particular natural processed lot was sourced from a station in the Chiri district, in the far eastern Sidama zone, on the outskirts of the Harenna Forest National Park.  Alemu Adema who owns the station works in partnership with the Tadesse Desta Coffee Group to export directly to Royal.

Processing Details:

Several hundred farmers located in communities of Chiri deliver cherries to Alemu’s station.   Ripe cherries are carefully sorted and then placed on raised drying beds in thin layers to dry for 15 to 20 days and turned regularly to avoid over-fermentation and mold.  Raised beds are carefully constructed to ensure proper air circulation and temperature control, for optimal drying.

Exporting Details:

Once the cherries are gently dried to 11 percent moisture, they are transported to the Tadesse Desta dry-mill where the same focus on sorting and quality control is executed through to the final export stage.