Nagare Espresso: Shoondhisa | Ethiopia

More about Shoondhisa & Sookoo Coffee:

This lot has been cultivated and harvested by small-holder farmers within the Shoondhisa hamlet of Shakiso Woreda (administrative unit) in West Guji within the larger Oromia region. We are roasting this lot exclusively for our friends and Nagare coffee and you can expect all the florals, bright berries and intense sweetness reminding us of orange blossom, blueberries and nectarines.

As is common in Ethiopia, and many other African coffee producing countries, growers harvest the coffee cherry which they sell to a nearby washing or processing station. In this case the processing station is owned and operated by Sookoo Coffee - a processing and exporting company led by Ture Waji. Ture is a driven young entrepreneur with strong connections to the land, its community and farmers, famously known in the region as ‘The King of Guji’. He has lived and worked in the region his entire life. Previously working as Quality Specialist and Manager at the Mormora Estate and Guji Highlands Coffee Company, he became renowned as one of the most skilled producers of natural processed Ethiopian coffees. In 2018, along with his partners Eegata Alaka and Fedhasa Wodessahe they founded a new venture - Sookoo Coffee (Legally registered as Dambi Udo).

Sookoo focus predominantly on producing naturally processed coffees (thought they have also recently produced some washed coffees) with cherry sourced from the surrounding kebeles. Each lot is named after the kebele (small locality) from which the cherry comes (e.g. Shoondhisa, Bookkisa, Daannisa etc). The cherries are dried at a centralised location on raised beds for around 15-20 days in very thin layers. They are moved and rotated frequently to ensure even and precise drying. When drying is complete, the coffee is rested in jute bags before undergoing multiple rounds of hand and optical sorting to remove defective beans.

As well as operating drying stations Ture and the team spend time between harvests providing education to growers, training them in good agricultural and harvesting practices.

Since having the pleasure of roasting lots from the Bookkisa hamlet over the last few years, we are excited to be able to purchase some more delicious natural lots from the Guji area from Sookoo via the values driven import partner - Osito. We are roasting this lot hailing from the Shoondhisa hamlet exclusively for our friends and Nagare coffee and you can expect all the florals, bright berries and intense sweetness reminding us of orange blossom, blueberries and nectarines. It’s an absolute delight!