Hundred House Coffee - Ethiopia - Hama Co-Op - Natural

Gedeo extends south from the Sidama zone surrounded by the Oromia region with Guji bordering to the East. Situated in the Ethiopian Highlands which has little altitude falling below 1500masl, and is home to Ras Dashen, the highest mountain in Ethiopia, 10th highest in Africa. In Ethiopia, Kebele’s are grouped to form Woredas, Woredas into Zones, and Zones in to regions. It is common to find variation amongst spellings of places due to the language not readily translating in to Western Languages, leading to different interpretations of spellings.

Made up of approximately 1500 members, the Hama Cooperative has been slowly increasing its output of washed and natural coffee through the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in recognition of its commitment to quality and connections to a wider market, enabling them to get a better price. The Union itself represents 23-member cooperatives and offers wet and sundried processing for members as well as exportation.

The coffee from here is grown at high altitudes in Iron rich soils with a spread of genetic diversity provided by the heirloom varietals. Natural processed coffees are sun-dried with the cherries on mats placed in raised beds and monitored until the cherry reaches 11.5% moisture, before being taken to a hulling machine to remove the dried flesh and parchment. For washed processing, the moisture is 12%, the coffee first being floated to remove debris and the underripes before being fermented and pulped as usual. Further sorting and removal of the bean from parchment is carried out in the Union owned facilities in Addis Ababa.