Ethiopia
West Guji
Smallholder Producers
Smallholder Farms
74110, 74112, 74158
Natural
November–January
Chocolate, Apricot, Blueberry, Guava
2275 meters
N/A
60 kg w/ GrainPro
USA - Oakland, CA - Annex - CTI
UK - Bury St Edmunds - Vollers
This coffee was produced by smallholder producers in the Buku kebele, or village, and was processed at the Buku washing station operated by Esayas Bareso. The Buku Abel village, where the washing station is located within the Guji zone, sits 2350 meters above sea level, representing one of the highest coffee producing altitudes we’ve come across.
Local farmers grow locally selected varieties 74110, 74112, and 74158, which were developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) in the 1970s. Cherries are manually harvested before being taken to the processing station where they are handsorted before being processed. The sorted cherries are then dried on raised beds where they are turned frequently until reaching their ideal humidity. All coffee is hand sorted a final time after drying before being prepared for export.
This coffee was sourced from SNAP Specialty Coffee. SNAP was established in 2008 by Negusse Debela in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. The company operates three washing stations in the Gedeo zone, and are partnered with additional washing stations in Guji and West Arsi. We began our partnership with SNAP in 2022.
As the coffee industry continues to grow in Ethiopia, the country’s historic growing areas don’t always match up with the current-day maps defining Ethiopia’s geography. Our goal is to provide the clearest and most accurate information about the coffees that we offer, and we’re proud to provide the most specific location information we have for these coffees. Learn more about Ethiopia’s coffee growing regions on our blog.
Region: Oromia
Zone: West Guji
Woreda: Hambela
Kebele: Buku Abel
ECX Growing Area: Sidama
West Guji is a zone in the Oromia Region of southern Ethiopia. Most residents of this region are Oromo and speak the Oromo language, which is entirely different from Ethiopia’s main language of Amharic. Like many of the country’s coffee growing regions, the culture of the West Guji Zone varies from woreda to woreda and speaks to the diversity of people who cultivate coffee.
It’s bordered by the Borena zone to the south, the South Ethiopia Regional State to the west, the Gedeo Zone of South Ethiopia and Sidama Region to the north, and the Guji Zone to the east.