Ethiopia Kayon Mountain Natural

In Ethiopia, growing, processing, and drinking coffee has been a part of everyday life for centuries. Most coffee is grown in small coffee gardens, so it's rare to find a coffee from a single farm with full traceability. This coffee comes to us from Kayon Mountain Farm's Shakiso location in the highlands of the Guji Zone of southern Ethiopia. Guji is a beautifully forested area where coffee plants (both wild and cultivated) flourish. The region's rich red soil creates a distinct and highly sought-after flavor profile.

The Kayon Mountain Coffee Farm bridges two villages, Taro and Sewana. Of its 500 hectares of land, around 300 are planted in coffee with the remaining land dedicated to acacia and other indigenous trees. Part of the farm is used as a nursery to cultivate additional native trees. These trees grow with the coffee plants to shade and protect them. The nursery also creates compost that is used as a natural fertilizer.

The farm has been owned and operated by Ismael Hassen Aredo and his family since 2012 and employs over 325 full time and seasonal workers. Ismael offers competitive wages as well as free transportation services. The farm also supports the building of schools and administration buildings in the local community.

Ismael is known to be a meticulous manager with hands-on control of the farm's organization, harvesting, and processing. For this natural process, only perfectly ripe cherries are hand-picked and carefully sorted. The coffee is spread out on raised beds and dried in the sun for for 14 to 18 days. The coffee is rotated constantly throughout the process to ensure even drying.