Gobena Bendo

This coffee was grown by Mr. Gobena Bendo and processed at the Banko Gotiti Washing Station in Gedeo, Yirgacheffe Ethiopia. This lot is a field blend of Landrace cultivars. Mr Gobena Bendo grows coffee between 2200-2300 MASL.

Although specific processing details weren’t available to us for this coffee. It is processed as a “Washed” or “Wet” Process coffee. The process of producing Washed coffees in Ethiopia will vary slightly from washing station to washing station, but generally speaking the coffee is picked ripe and depulped the same day. There is usually a fermentation period of 8–12 hours in open-air tanks, then washed in water channels to remove the mucilage. The coffee seeds will be spread on raised beds to dry for 5–15 days, depending on the weather.

This is a unique and delicate Washed coffee. Straight away, I'm getting subtle green tea with flowers, first flush Jasmine Pearls, but this coffee is also super crisp and fresh. White Grape, along with slightly unripe, tart and crunchy white Peach. This one is definitely a favorite from this line-up. Mr Gobena’s coffee is showing unique florals, with the dried apple and spiced-tea like character giving a very pleasant cup.

Here is some more info about Mr. Gobena Bendo provided to us via Cafe Imports team:

“Mr. Gobena Bendo is a 65-year-old farmer with a lifetime of experience in coffee production. He inherited 10 hectares of land from his father and hopes to pass it on to some of his children, who still live in the same village. For many years, he has relied on income from coffee production to support his livelihood. This income covers his expenses for health, transportation, and other daily needs.

Mr. Gobena produces 7 to 8 quintals of coffee per hectare and also grows cereals on part of his land to meet his family’s annual food consumption needs. To assist with the farmwork, he employs two part-time workers, in addition to the help he receives from his adult children, who live nearby with their parents.”

Cafe Imports has been working hard to deliver Single Farmer traceable lots from Ethiopia for the last 14 years! This is something that we love to see & support, as it provides opportunities to access very small microlots from our favorite coffee growing country, as well as put the spotlight to the farmers who produce this awesome coffee.

Here is a short blurb about the Single Farmer Project, direct from Cafe Imports website:

“The Single Farmer Project is the result of an effort to support Ethiopian producers with a marketplace for farm-traceable coffees. Back in 2012, during a turbulent time in Ethiopia's coffee exporting history, Partner and CEO Jason Long worked with an established cooperative to export some of the first ever truly “Farm Traceable” lots from Ethiopia. This was the first time a roaster could highlight the individual farmer for their Ethiopian Coffee. It was the start of an incredible project and truly began the movement for traceability in Ethiopia as we see more often today. This project also gave us some very fun stories like literally bringing a backpack full of Ethiopian Birr to Yirgacheffe with COO Noah Namowicz to pay the premiums directly to these farmers who participated. 

This project is made possible in conjunction with important export partners supporting and bringing to market individual farmer lots. Samples are sent out to potential buyers, price is negotiated on the farmers' behalf, and contracts are only accepted when the producer agrees on a sales price and their name is on the contract for each coffee they sell. 

“Our goals with this project would be to help garner and develop long-term relationships between the producers we are already working with and coffee roasting companies that share in the values of transparency, traceability, and relationship that this program represents," says Claudia, green-coffee buyer for Cafe Imports.”

Import Partner: Cafe Imports Australia
All our coffees are sold as whole beans.