Producer: Basha Bekele
Farm: 126 Smallholders
Region: Bensa, Sidama
Altitude: 2,350 masl
Varietal: 74158
Process: Natural
Roast: Light
Notes: Blackcurrant, Nutmeg, Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Imported by our friends at Crop to Cup.

"Basha’s father was once a manager for a co-op in Bombe that supplied coffee to the Sidama Union. Before the government made it possible for smallholders to obtain export licenses, both he and his father sold their cherry to the cooperative. Basha now has his own export license and grows coffee (primarily 74158, known locally as 'Walega') in semi-forested plots on 12 hectares. He also operates collection sites in Bombe, Shantawane, and Kokose, where he collects cherry from producers growing coffee as high as 2,350 masl.

"While cherry prices were high this year, Basha maintained a practice we don't see everywhere: delivering a second payment to the 126 producers he bought cherry from once the coffee sold. Like most smallholders around Bensa, Basha exclusively produces dry processes—which includes experiments with anaerobic styles of fermentation—and floats cherries to remove defects before drying his coffee slowly on raised beds."