Description
Ethiopia Sakaro — Family Farms and Traditions of Cultivation
The Aricha farm is located in the heart of the Yirgacheffe district, in the southern Ethiopian highlands. The Tadi Coffee processing station in the Buno-Tadi region covers 4 hectares of land and hosts 275 ventilated drying beds — the well-known African raised beds. The enterprise is managed by Nega Bobe, an agricultural expert with extensive experience in the coffee industry.
The mill produces both washed and naturally processed coffees, all harvested by hand. Mr. Bobe and his team carefully inspect the cherries after picking to ensure that only ripe, red cherries make it to the fermentation tanks for washed coffee or to the drying beds for naturals. A pre-sorting machine separates the pulp from the beans, which are then fermented for 38–42 hours, depending on fermentation speed. After that, the washed beans are spread out on African beds to dry.
The drying phase lasts 8–10 days, until the beans reach a moisture level of 12%. Once processed, the coffee is transported to a warehouse to rest and develop its flavors before being sent to Addis Ababa, where grading, hulling, and the removal of defects and foreign matter take place.
