Ethiopia Suke Quto Natural

GrainPro package 60 kg

Farmer Tesfaye Bekele

Tesfaye Bekele is one of the people who helped make Guji famous for its fine coffee. While cattle ranching was the dominant industry in the Guji zone, Tesfaye was looking for new ways to expand coffee farming in the area. “I don’t just consider myself a coffee farmer because coffee means everything to me. I dedicate all my time and energy to the coffee cherries that I harvest and process,” explains Tesfaye Bekele, founder of Suke Quto Farm.

“I come from a coffee farming family, so I was introduced to coffee at a young age,” Tesfaye continues. “At first, I wasn’t interested in coffee. The work was hard and the days were long. But after years of study and other work experience, I returned home to the Shakisso area of ​​the Guji zone. And I rediscovered my passion for coffee.”

Fires in Guj

Tesfaye began working for the Ethiopian government in the field of natural resources and environmental protection. He was in charge of the Guji and Borena zones, which at the time formed one administrative region. Between 1997 and 1999, Guji was hit by major fires that destroyed over 2,000 hectares of forest. This was a real crisis for the people of Guji, as they often did not know what caused the fires. Tesfaye had a huge responsibility to restore the destroyed areas and find new ways to protect the area.

“After the fires, local people returned to the burned areas and began to convert them into agricultural land, growing teff and maize, for example,” says Tesfaye. As a government official, he realized that he could not stop people from rebuilding their livelihoods in these places. He needed to offer them an alternative. “I came up with the idea of ​​reforesting these areas and at the same time adding coffee trees to increase biodiversity. The local community agreed with my proposal and asked me to provide them with coffee seedlings.”

Suke Quto Farm

Suke Quto Farm is located in the peaks and valleys of the Odo Shakisso region. The soil here, rich in volcanic soil, is very fertile. Tesfaye maintains its quality through organic recycling – through leaf litter and root residues from coffee trees and shade trees. All coffees from Suke Quto Farm are certified organic and Rainforest Alliance.

Tesfaye works with 171 smallholder farmers who supply coffee cherries to his Suke Quto washing and drying station. In addition to working with these farmers, he also owns an additional 221 hectares in the Guji highlands. More than 200 seasonal workers are needed each season to harvest and process Suke coffee.

Suke Quto Processing Station

At the Suke Quto processing station, washed coffees are hulled using an Agared machine. The coffee beans are fermented for 35 to 48 hours (depending on the current weather) in fermentation tanks. Naturally processed coffees from the Suke farm are dried on raised beds for 9 to 15 days.

Tesfaye focuses on environmentally friendly coffee production and the economic growth of the local community. In other words, people should earn a decent income from sustainable coffee production. Tesfaye has also started a community project aimed at renovating local schools. With the help of several dedicated coffee roasters, Tesfaye built a new school building in the neighboring village of Kurume.

Flavor profile : blueberry jam, prunes and peaches, black tea

Country of origin : Ethiopia

Region : Guji

Farm: Suke Quto

Farmer: Tesfaye Bekele

Altitude: 1800-2200 m above sea level

Variety : Heirloom

Processing : Natural

Cupping Score: 86.5

Crop: 24