Ethiopia Abaynesh Dori Natural

Yirgacheffe | Heirloom | 1800-2200 masl | Natural

Lush and tea forward, this natural lot opens with papaya and cascara and settles into black tea.

Coffees from individual farmers are still rare in Ethiopia, where most production flows through centralized processing stations. Abaynesh Dori is an exception. Working with Jebo Workineh, she produces and exports her own coffee directly to international buyers. Her farm in the Idido municipality of Yirga Chefe runs to 4.4 hectares, substantial by local standards where the average farmer works a hectare or less. During harvest she employs 40 people to handpick cherries throughout the day, sort them for ripeness, and float them for density. The best cherries go straight to raised beds, where they dry in the sun for 10 to 20 days before being hulled locally and sent to Addis Ababa for final milling. Idido sits at the heart of the Gedeo Zone, the highland plateau that has long set the global benchmark for what Yirgacheffe can be.