This lot comes from the Goro washing station, which is owned and run by Buno General Trading. The washing station is located at 2320masl and the total production from this site is around 600 bags of coffee. This area of Guji is one of the most exciting in all of Ethiopia, with very high altitudes and young, healthy plants.

This area of Hambella has only recently started producing coffee, where before it was too cold, now coffee can grow and thrive. Since production started relatively recently, the plants are still young and full of health and the slow growth and maturity means that the cup quality in the area is outstanding. Producers around the Goro washing station have between 3 and 15 hectares of land, far more than the Ethiopian national average, which means that farmer training and incentivising farmers to improve quality is easier and more attainable.

Cherry delivered to this station is sorted, washed and floated before being placed on raised beds to dry. The cooler temperatures at this altitude means that the naturals take a long time to dry, around 40 days, and Abiyot and the station manager take care to make sure the intense light at this altitude doesn’t damage the cherry and so coffee is covered during the middle of the day.

Buno Trading is a relatively small exporter who has 7 washing stations across various areas of Guji producing specialty coffee. Abiyot, the owner and manager, has focused on producing the best quality coffee possible, searching for the highest elevations and filtering producer partners by quality of cherry selection delivered. Almost all of the coffee produced at his stations are naturals, and he has been experimenting with various processing methods. Abiyot works with a range of producers of all sizes, but has focused more on farmers with more land, between 8 and 15 hectares. This size of producer makes it possible to improve picking and quality more easily and separate lots to make single producer micro-lots. The cherry selection at Buno’s sites was by far the best we have seen in Ethiopia, which shows on the cupping table. Abiyot incentivises farmers by offering a very competitive premium on well selected cherry.