Ethiopia Suke Quto Pulped Natural

WHY WE LOVE IT: The pulped natural component of our recent 3thiopia blend, this remarkable coffee is as floral as it is sweet. 

DESCRIPTION: fig, nectarine, wildflower honey

REGION: Odo Shakisso, Guji Zone

PROCESSING METHOD: Pulped Natural

ALTITUDE: 1,800 - 2,200 m

VARIETY: Kurume, Welicho

Coffee in the Guji Zone would be dramatically different without Suke Quto Farm. Ato Tesfaye Bekele is one of the pioneers that helped bring Guji specialty coffees to the main stage. Tesfaye started Suke Quto after Guji was devastated by several large bushfires between 1997 and 1999. After the fires, most locals wanted to keep the area as fields for growing crops and grazing cattle, but Tesfaye had a different idea. 

As a conservationist, he wanted to see the land reforested while also providing a livelihood for the people in his community. He began by distributing coffee seedlings to farmers in the area and eventually established his own coffee seedlings nursery. When he couldn’t find any managers eager to look after his seedlings that wouldn’t yield for four or five years, he resigned his job and became a full-time coffee farmer. 

Tesfaye Bekele’s unconventional stumble into coffee farming brings us this delicious pulped natural lot. His dedication to quality and conservation has led him to experiment with new processing methods so his farm never stops improving. He and the 171 outgrowers that bring their coffee to his washing station work with Trabocca to produce exceptional organic and Rainforest Alliance-certified coffees that highlight the floral and fruity flavors that we love from Guji.

We loved Suke Quto in 3thiopia, where it lended the blend its lighter stonefruit and floral notes. It has wonderful complexity and layered sweetness, with the fig and wildflower honey playing off each other well. Once a part of a dazzling blend and now getting its own release, we are thrilled to present the work of Ato Tesfaye Bekele and company in multiple ways this year.