This coffee's story 

This coffee has been processed in Banko Gotiti, from cherries harvested by surrounding smallholders. It is sourced through one of our suppliers, Monochrome General Trading LLC.

The Banko Gotiti washing station was established in 2009. It is located in the Gedeo zone, Gedeb woreda and collects cherries from smallholder farms, each about 2 hectares in size and totaling 1300 hectares. Most of these farms are situated at elevations of 1950-2100 metres above sea level. The name Banko Gotiti refers to a specific coffee profile.

Coffee production here is shade-grown and intercropped with agroforestry. Farmers grow indigenous trees and false bananas alongside their coffee plants. The current factory manager is called Museyid Sermelo. Our supply of this coffee is facilitated through BNT Industry & Trading PLC, which operates its own warehouse and dry mill and is Rainforest Alliance certified.

Processing 

Immature and overripe cherries are sorted out during the cherry quality inspection before pulping. An Agaard machine is used to separate the cherries based on density, without the use of flotation tanks. The mucilage is removed by fermenting the pulped cherries in a fermentation tank for 36 to 48 hours, depending on the weather. Parchment grading is done in the washing channel during the washing process. The coffee is then soaked for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Wastewater is not treated but kept in a lagoon, and groundwater is used in the process.

The coffee is dried on African drying beds for approximately 10 to 15 days. During the daytime, the cherries are continuously raked to ensure consistent drying. From 12 to 3 pm, the cherries are covered to protect them from the hot sun, and at night, the beds are covered to protect them from rainfall. The parchment is stored in a warehouse on bamboo pallets and kept in jute bags for 1 month. When coffee is processed as natural, cherries are picked and sorted. Then, coffee is sundried on African raised beds.