Specialty Coffee Ethiopia Taferi Kela Washed

The name Bette Buna literally translates as «House of Coffee». This company has been deeply rooted in the village ever since grandparents Syoum and Emame asked Dawit and Hester to take over their farm and, above all, the responsibility of helping the community of Taferi Kela grow. Although this village shares the same mountain range as more renowned Sidamo producers, it has so far been neglected: no other company or industry of any kind operates in this area.

Creating opportunities

Coffee production in Ethiopia accounts for about a third of the country's GDP, yet over 90% of the people who work in it do not earn a living wage. Bette Buna decided to change this reality in its own community. They teach local growers how to improve the soil, restore agroforestry systems and the importance of picking only ripe cherries. Ripe cherries weigh more and produce better coffee: this way farmers are paid more by weight and also receive a premium for quality.

Even more importantly, every year they distribute over 350,000 healthy seedlings from their own nursery. These are varieties adapted to climate change and, on average, the farmers who plant them earn at least 2 dollars a year for each seedling once it has grown. This means an economic impact in the area of over 650,000 dollars a year, in a region where the average household income is less than 50 dollars a month for an average family of 9 people.

Equal opportunities and a transparent supply chain

Bette Buna promotes equal opportunities, a rare thing in a culture that typically does not offer meaningful work to people with disabilities. Their nursery employs people with disabilities (in particular the deaf), their families, and other marginalised groups such as single mothers who struggle to find employment, especially jobs that allow them to balance childcare in a farming society.

With Bette Buna, traceability is exceptional. Each lot specifically traces and maps the people involved in every stage of production: from who picked the cherries to who processed and refined the coffee. This level of transparency is almost unheard of in Ethiopia. Not only do we know that we will receive exactly the coffee we tasted before shipment, but we also know that those who did the work receive a fair wage: every person involved adds value and is valued. This work on transparency also allows Bette Buna to be already prepared for compliance with the EUDR regulations (EU Deforestation Regulation).

The Lot

This specific lot was grown by the farmers of the Taferi Kela community and processed by Bette Buna at their washing station. It is a classic washed Ethiopian coffee: first depulped, then fermented for 24-36 hours depending on temperature. Fermentation takes place in concrete tanks filled with water, in a low-oxygen but not fully anaerobic environment. It is then washed and the floating or defective beans are removed. This is followed by drying for 8-15 days on covered raised beds and a resting period in the warehouse to stabilise the coffee and reach the correct moisture level. The different «lots» represent the various processing cycles that took place over the course of the season.