Ethiopia Taferi Kela | washed

This coffee from Taferi Kela, Sidamo, Ethiopia produced by Bette Buna Coffee Company.

Bette Buna literally translates to ‘House of Coffee’ and this company has been deeply rooted in the village ever since Grandfather Syoum and Grandmother Emame asked Dawit and Hester to take over their farm, but more importantly, their responsibility for building the community of Taferi Kela. Even though this village shares a mountain range with better-known Sidamina producers, it has been overlooked so far, and no other company or industry of any type works in this area.

Equal Opportunity Employment and Transparent Supply Chains.

Bette Buna is an equal opportunity employer, which is rare in a culture that doesn’t typically provide meaningful work for differently abled or disabled people. Their nursery employs people with disabilities (particularly deaf people), families of people with disabilities, as well as other largely disenfranchised groups such as single mothers who struggle to find work, and especially work that accommodates childcare for working mothers in an agrarian society.

With Bette Buna, the traceability is exceptional. Every lot specifically tracks and maps the people involved at each stage of production, from the people who picked the cherries to those who processed and milled the coffee. This level of transparency is almost unheard of in Ethiopia. Not only do we know we’re getting the same coffees we tasted pre shipment, but we also know that the people who did the work are getting fair wages — everyone involved is adding value and being valued. This transparency work has the additional benefit of meaning Bette Buna is prepped for EUDR compliance.

This Lot

This particular lot was grown by community farmers in Taferi Kela and processed by Bette Buna at their washing station. It’s a classic washed Ethiopian coffee: First depulped, then fermented for 24-36 hrs depending on the temperature. Fermentation happens in concrete basins topped with water. It’s a low oxygen but not completely anaerobic environment. Next it was washed and floaters/defects removed. Then 8-15 days on raised, covered drying beds followed by rest time in the warehouse to stabilize the coffee and reach the correct moisture level. The different ‘lots’ are different processing runs that happened over the course of the season.