The excellent coffees we continue to see out of Bensa have quickly made the region one of our favorites. This selection comes from a washing station in the small woreda (district) of Bona Zuria, just south of Harbegona. In the cup we find ripe nectarine, melon, and Key lime.
Ethiopian Landrace
Bona Zuria, Bensa, Sidama
2,100 masl
January, 2021
Hand picked at peak ripeness. Floated to further remove defects. Depulped. Grade 1 density separated. Wet fermented for 12-14 hours. Dried on raised beds for 10-12 days.
ABOUT BENSA
Bensa continues to be one of the most exciting regions in the coffee-producing world. This coffee came to us through one of our most valued relationships: Heleanna Georgalis. We are excited to continue this close working partnership. Due to difficulty traveling, we still have not been able to visit Bensa. However, we will definitely be traveling here as soon as it becomes possible in order to work on developing and strengthening these partnerships.
ABOUT ETHIOPIAN LANDRACE
Ethiopia is widely acknowledged as where coffee originated, and its production continues to represent about 10% of the country’s gross domestic product. Estimates guess that there are potentially up to thousands of varieties growing in Ethiopia, making it home to the most coffee biodiversity of any region in the world. Given the tradition of coffee production in Ethiopia and the political interworkings of the Ethiopian coffee trade, it is extremely difficult to get single variety coffee lots from Ethiopia. This is changing, albeit very slowly. Most Ethiopian coffees are blends of the many Ethiopian varieties, and referred to simply as 'Ethiopian Landrace'.
Pricing Details
Farm Gate (Local)
31 Birr/KG
Farm Gate (USD)
~$4.69/KG
FOB
$7.49/KG
FOT
$10.46/KG
The cost of getting a coffee from cherry to beverage varies enormously depending on its place of origin and the location of its consumption. The inclusion of price transparency is a starting point to inform broader conversation around the true costs of production and the sustainability of specialty coffee as a whole.