Bookkisa Natural - Ethiopia

Largely covered by vast forested areas, Guji is one of the twenty zones constituting the Oromia administrative region which, with its 30 million inhabitants, is the most populous of the 9 regions in the country. The ancestral forests of Guji, its volcanic soil rich in silt and clay, as well as its temperate climate and high altitude, have in recent years made the reputation of certain woredas (districts) such as Uraga, Kercha, and Shakiso. The success of this terroir would not have been possible without the know-how and labor of the local producers. This lot is the result of the work of 33 farmers whose "garden" plantations rarely exceed 2.5 hectares. In this type of farm, coffee plants are scattered around the main dwelling, under a semi-forested canopy alongside other types of subsistence crops (vegetables, corn, etc.). Once the coffee cherries are harvested, they are carried on foot to the washing station located in the kebele (village) of Dambi Uddo to be sold there. This step is usually carried out in the middle of the night to prevent the cherries from being overexposed to the sun. 

Once delivered to the Dambi Uddo washing station, it is the owner Ture Waji and his team who take over to transform the cherries into green coffee beans ready to be shipped. Since 2008, Ture Waji, nicknamed the "King of Guji," has taken advantage of the liberalization of the coffee export market in Ethiopia to found the company Sookoo Coffee. It is through this company that he operates his two washing stations (Dambi Uddo and Raro Nansebo) and his export license, which allows him to transport his coffee first to the capital Addis Ababa, then to the port of Djibouti. Ture has been involved in his community for over 10 years, having previously worked for Mormora Coffee and Guji Highlands Coffee. Since the creation of Sookoo Coffee in 2018, this involvement has resulted in the construction of a school and several roads, as well as microcredits granted to producers, enabling them to finance certain tasks before the harvest and thus somewhat lighten the burden on households. Between harvests, Waji provides agricultural training for community members, while his two washing stations adhere to a strict "Women First" policy aimed at promoting women's empowerment by guaranteeing them access to a stable salary. The Café Pista team feels extremely privileged to be able to work in the wake of the producers of Bookkisa, of Ture Waji, and to be able to share with our own community the fruit of passionate work. This relationship with Ture Waji has once again been made possible thanks to our import partner Osito Coffee.

The Bookkisa is hand-picked at full maturity, at an altitude of 2175m, between the months of November and February. It is then rigorously sorted to remove cherries that are too ripe or not ripe enough, before spreading the remaining ones on raised beds. On these beds, the cherries form a layer up to 4 cm thick and are turned 6 times a day to optimize air circulation. They are thus sun-dried for a period ranging from 21 to 28 days before being mechanically pulped. The Bookkisa consists of the varieties 74110 (Gibirinna) and 74112 (Serto). These two varieties were selected by the JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Center) as early as 1979 for their resistance to certain diseases, as well as for their high sensory potential.