This lot is one of the outturns from the Goro washing station, which is owned and run by Buno General Trading. The
washing station is located at 2320masl and the total production from this site is around 600 bags of coffee. This
area of Guji is one of the most exciting in all of Ethiopia, with very high altitudes and young, vigorous plants. This
area of Hambella has only recently started producing coffee, where before it was too cold, now coffee can grow
andthrive. Since production started relatively recently, the plants are still young and full of health and the slow
growthand maturity means that the cup quality in the area is outstanding. Producers around the Goro washing
station havebetween 3 and 15 hectares of land, far more than the Ethiopian national average, which means that
farmer trainingand incentivizing farmers to improve quality is easier and more attainable. Cherry delivered to this
station is sorted,washed and floated before being placed on raised beds to dry. The cooler temperatures at this
altitude means thatthe naturals take a long time to dry, around 40 days, and Abiyot and the station manager take
care to make sure theintense light at this altitude doesn’t damage the cherry and so coffee is covered during the
middle of the day.BunoTrading is a relatively small exporter who has 7 washing stations across various areas of Guji
producing specialtycoffee. Abiyot, the owner and manager, has focused on producing the best quality coffee
possible, searching for thehighest elevations and filtering producer partners by quality of cherry selection delivered.
Almost all of the coffeeproduced at his stations are naturals, and he has been experimenting with various
processing methods. Abiyotworks with a range of producers of all sizes, but has focused more on farmers with more
land, between 8 and 15hectares. This size of producer makes it possible to improve picking and quality more easily
and separate lots tomake single producer micro-lots. The cherry selection at Buno’s sites was by far the best we
have seen in Ethiopia,which shows on the cupping table. Abiyot incentivizes farmers by offering a very competitive
premium on wellselected cherry.
