Ethiopia

Negussie Gemeda is a farmer from the village of Hayisa in Keramo, Sidamo where he lives with his wife, four sons and three daughters.

The Sidamo region has developed a reputation for producing some of the finest coffees in the world; it boasts plentiful sunshine and exceptional altitude, the positive byproduct of which is relatively cool temperatures that allow for slow cherry maturation.

Negussie’s 13-hectare farm is situated 2,100 metres above sea level, with 3 hectares devoted to growing (around) 15,000kg of red cherry a year, and the other 10 hectares focused on other crops such as vegetables, wheat, barley and bamboo.

In 2019 Negussie’s grade 1 natural won the first-ever Ethiopia Cup of Excellence competition with a score of 91.4pts.

This coffee was processed using a traditional natural method whereby ripe cherries are carefully selected for quality and then dried in the sun on raised African beds.