Shantawene · Natural Heirloom · Ethiopia

In the Bensa district of Sidama, the Shantawene washing station serves about 1,600 smallholder farmers who cultivate local varieties of coffee in the foothills of the Bombe mountains.

Daye Bensa, founded by two brothers who are renowned for producing high-quality coffees, operates this station while advocating organic farming practices. With a continuous investment towards upgrading all the processing equipment, this station plays a huge role in developing innovative and experimental methods. Going forward, they’ve been working to encourage women farmers, and strengthening their relationship with Hawassa University, to help students develop research.

With the cherries being harvested by hand at peak ripeness, the meticulousness of the work is the defining aspect at Shantawene. Farmers deliver the coffee cherries to the station on the same day they’re picked. Any defected, unripe or overripe ones are carefully separated to ensure consistency. They’re spread out to dry on raised beds, with the beans resting inside the intact cherry throughout, slowly absorbing the fruit sugar while developing the flavour base that defines the natural process.

There are over 50 cooperatives and 200 washing stations throughout Sidama, the region known for producing the most coffee at the highest grades in Ethiopia. Geographically, we understand why this is. Spread across fertile highlands, half of this region's land is cultivated with varied crops. The surrounding rivers and lakes along with the very high elevation result in cool weather and fertile soil. These factors combined with over 100 inches of rainfall per year, cause the coffee to ripen slower than in any other region of the country.

In Ethiopia, the majority of coffee producers are small independent farmers, who mostly continue to cultivate their crops using traditional methods. In this region, farmers don’t have access to chemical fertilisers or pesticides, therefore none of which are used in the production of coffee.