Origin: Guji Megadu, Ethiopia
Altitude: 2,000 - 2,200 masl
Variety: 74112,74110, Wild Guji Magadu
Process: Natural
Producer: Bette Buna
Flavour Profile: Blackberry, Skittles, Peach, Passionfruit, Floral
This lot comes from the legendary Bette Buna, on their farm Guji Megadu.
A fruit forward, naturally processed 74112,74110 and Wild Guji Magadu layered with a vibrant and sweet fruit profile.
In the cup we're tasting - Blackberries, peaches, skittles, passionfruit with a beautiful floral undertone as you'd expect from a beautiful Ethiopian coffee.
THE PRODUCER
Bette Buna was founded in 2020 by Hester, from the Netherlands, and her husband Dawit, from Ethiopia. They remain the owners, driven by the belief that too many people and communities are judged too quickly. A missed chance for the world, as they could be the most extraordinary leaders, driving change simply by thinking differently and out of the box.
Together, Hester and Dawit bring over 20 years of combined experience in business, education, community building, and developing organizations in complex environments in Ethiopia. They have spent years creating opportunities for people and communities, helping them gain skills, take initiative, and build start ups.
They didn’t start with coffee, but they knew how to transform communities from the ground up. Coffee became the tool to make that change visible. By building systems where people can learn, experiment, and take control of their future.
Bette Buna is the result of that belief in action. They’re not there yet, but every step forward creates real opportunities for communities, farmers, and the people who enjoy their coffee.
THE PROCESS
In Guji, the ripe cherries develop an intense red colour and are typically easy to pick. Despite this, Megadu faced significant challenges this year due to a shortage of farm labourers. As a result, Bette Buna lost a considerable portion of the harvest, with many ripe cherries left unpicked.
The ‘Kickstart’ process was developed by the processing team at Bette Buna as a way to concentrate sugars and subtly alter their structure before the standard natural processing begins. After delivery to the wet mill, the cherries are given a “kick” by being placed in an anaerobic environment for a short period. This stage is not long enough for full fermentation to begin, but sufficient to initiate structural changes within the sugars. The result is a coffee with enhanced sweetness and body, layered over the classic Sidamo natural profile.
The coffee is then dried in the traditional manner on raised African-style beds. This method has now become a standard processing technique for the Bette Buna team, and the results speak for themselves.
Once the desired moisture level is reached, the dried cherry is bagged, tagged, and moved into storage to rest for a minimum of eight weeks. This resting period allows for greater complexity and intensity in the final cup profile. After local dry milling to remove the hull, the coffee undergoes a further round of hand-sorting to eliminate primary defects.
The green coffee is then transported by truck on a three- to five-day journey to Bette Buna’s main dry mill in Gelan, near Addis Ababa. There, the beans undergo additional cleaning, size and density screening, and colour sorting before being bagged for export.
