Pista - Bookkisa Natural

Notes - Mango, pineapple and blueberry

Origin - Ethiopia

Process - Natural

Profiles - Tangy and fruity

Recommendations - Discovery Filter

Largely covered by vast forest areas, Guji is one of the twenty zones constituting the administrative region of Oromia which, with its 30 million inhabitants, is the most populated of the nine regions of the country. Guji's ancestral forests, its volcanic soil rich in silt and clay, but also its temperate climate and high altitude, have in recent years made the reputation of certain woreda (district) such as Uraga, Kercha or Shakiso. The success of this terroir would not have been possible without the know-how and labor of 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 house, under a semi-forest canopy alongside other types of so-called subsistence crops (vegetables, corn, etc.). Once the coffee cherries are harvested, they are transported on foot to the washing station in the Dambi Uddo kebele (village) for sale. This process 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, owner Ture Waji and his team take over, transforming the cherries into green coffee beans ready for shipment. In 2008, Ture Waji, nicknamed the "King of Guji," took advantage of the liberalization of Ethiopia's coffee export market 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, and 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 Sookoo Coffee's inception in 2018, this commitment has resulted in the construction of a school and several roads, and microloans granted to farmers, allowing them to finance certain pre-harvest tasks and thus lightening the burden on households. Between harvests, Waji provides agricultural training for community members, while its two washing stations adhere to a strict "Women First" policy aimed at promoting women's empowerment by guaranteeing them access to a stable income. The Café Pista team feels extremely privileged to be able to work in the wake of the Bookkisa producers of Ture Waji, and to be able to share the fruits of their passionate labor with our own community. This relationship with Ture Waji was once again made possible thanks to our import partner Osito Coffee.

Bookkisa is hand-picked at full maturity, at an altitude of 2175m, between November and February. It is then rigorously sorted to remove over- or under-ripe cherries, before spreading the remaining ones on raised beds. On these beds, the cherries form a carpet no more than 4 cm thick and are turned 6 times a day to optimize air circulation. They are then sun-dried for a period of 21 to 28 days before being mechanically pulped. Bookkisa is made up of varieties 74110 (Gibirinna) and 74112 (Serto). These two varieties were selected by the JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Center) in 1979 for their resistance to certain diseases, as well as for their high sensory potential.