This exceptional natural coffee was grown by smallholder farmers living around the neighbourhood association of Konga Wote in Yirgacheffee, SNNPR Region.

Most contributing farmers own less than a hectare of land, and they grow coffee simply as a backyard cash crop. Coffee will usually be interspersed with other subsistence crops, such as; sweet potato, mangos and avocados, but there are no other primary cash crops grown in the region.

Income from coffee is important but minimal for most farmers due to the small size of their farms. As such, inputs are minimal – most coffee grown in the region is 100% organic, though not certified, as farmers simply don’t have the money to access funding such purposes.

Coffee is selectively hand-picked before being delivered to the mill collection points, usually within 5 km of the producer’s homes. Here, lots are separated by quality, producer and date of production. At least once a day, the collected coffee cherry is delivered to the mill, where it is floated and then placed on raised beds to be sorted by hand, usually by women, and dried. Great care is taken upon delivery to separate out any overripe, under-ripe or damaged bean. Once sorted, the cherry will remain on the beds for around 15 to 20 days; until the cherry has reached the ideal moisture content.

This coffee is classified as Grade 1, indicating that maximum effort has been put into the selection, grading and drying to ensure the very highest quality coffee is produced.