Ethiopia Tadese Teko

This fully washed Single Producer lot – we believe this is the best washed lot of the year – it comes from producer Tadese Teko in the village of Shale, near the town of Worka in the Yirgacheffe region. The Single Farmer project is the result of an initiative to support Ethiopian producers by providing a marketplace for coffee that can be traced back to its place of origin, something that is very unusual in Ethiopia, where coffee is usually a blend from many producers, varieties and locations.

Tadese Teko is one of millions of farmers living in Ethiopia's highlands who depend on coffee cultivation for their livelihood. He lives in southern Ethiopia, in the Gedeo zone, Gedeb district – an area known for its high-quality coffee production. With his 8 hectares of land, which is a lot in these parts where the average farm is around 4 hectares, Tadese is one of the larger producers. He has nine children and, thanks to the income from coffee, he can afford to send them to school.

Farmers in the area use traditional and sustainable methods, producing their own natural fertiliser from organic waste instead of chemical fertilisers. In addition to growing and supplying their coffee, many smallholders also work at local washing stations during the harvest season to earn extra income.

Tadese mostly produces washed (wet-processed) coffee, which he delivers to nearby washing stations. The process for producing washed coffee varieties in Ethiopia varies slightly between different washing stations, but in general, the coffee is picked ripe and peeled on the same day. This is usually followed by a fermentation period of 8–12 hours in open tanks, after which the coffee is washed in water channels to remove the sugar. The coffee beans are then spread out on raised beds to dry for 5–15 days, depending on the weather.

ABOUT THE REGION YIRGACHEFFE

Yirgacheffe is a region rich in coffee. The dense vegetation is a result of the warm tropical climate with moderate rainy and dry seasons. Most of the coffee is grown in the shade by small producers using organic methods. The coffee is grown at an altitude of 1,600 to 2,400 metres in these highlands. The many micro-regions create complex profiles depending on which washing station a particular coffee comes from.