Ethiopia - Chircho, Bensa

The farm

Chircho sits in Bensa, high in Sidama, where the days are warm and the nights drop close to freezing. That swing slows the cherry down and concentrates the sugars.

Kenean Yohannes runs a single farmer project here: one grower, one lot, no blending at the station. The 74158 variety was selected for leaf rust resistance, but it also carries the floral top notes this region is known for.

We buy it through And Coffee with Samson Z, who has worked with the same growers for years. The price is agreed before the harvest, not after.

The process

Advanced Natural

Cherries are floated, then dried whole on raised beds in thin layers, turned by hand through the hottest hours. The fruit stays on the seed for the full dry, which is where the blueberry and the vanilla come from.