Bookissa

The Sawana drying station, nestled in the hills of Shakiso, Guji, was established in 2022. Before its construction, coffee from Bookissa and Shoondhisa was processed at a single station. Since 2022, Sawana has been purchasing cherries from about 30 smallholder farmers to produce the cherished Bookissa coffee. Unlike Latin America, where farmers can own large farms with thousands of coffee trees, Ethiopian growers typically manage small plots, often harvesting coffee from their gardens alongside subsistence crops. The average Ethiopian farm size is 2.5 hectares, which is larger than the average farm in Colombia. However, the planting density in Ethiopia is much lower, with most production occurring in fully or semi-forested systems. This results in fewer trees per hectare and lower yield per tree (the national average being an astonishingly low 0.8 kg of cherry per tree per year). All cherries delivered to Sawana are organically produced.

Ripe cherry is grown and picked by 31 smallholding farmers in the Bookissa woreda (village) under native shade canopy, and delivered to the Sawana processing station. After the delivery is sorted and weighed, the farmer is paid above market price and the cherry is brought immediately to raised beds to dry in the sun. These coffees are seriously some of the cleanest naturals we've ever tasted, which we attribute to excellent picking and sorting by the growers, followed by extremely diligent and slow drying in perfect conditions at the hands of Ture and his team at Sookoo.

In the cup, you’ll find elegant floral notes followed by fresh strawberry. The acidity is very soft, and balanced by those creamy milk chocolate notes that add roundness and sweetness.