ETHIOPIA | ARAGASH GELCHA | 74110 & KURUME | NATURAL

High in the mountains of southern Ethiopia, in the village of Halo Shashemene, Aragash Gelcha and her family cultivate coffee on just five hectares of land.

Situated in the Gedeb district, within the wider Yirgacheffe coffee-growing area, the farm sits at an altitude of 2,150 metres, where the highland environment provides excellent conditions for producing distinctive Arabica coffee.

For Aragash, coffee is both a livelihood and a family endeavour.

Alongside her coffee trees grow enset, often called false banana, and fruit trees that help provide food for her twelve children, six daughters and six sons.

When Ethiopia changed its coffee export regulations in 2018, Aragash obtained her own export licence. It represented an important opportunity for small producers to gain greater independence, although navigating the complexities of international coffee markets has remained difficult.

Every harvest, Aragash and her family carefully hand-pick the ripe cherries before spreading them across raised drying beds on the farm.

For more than two weeks, the cherries are tended and turned, protected from rain and covered overnight. Only once they have dried sufficiently are they sent for milling and preparation for export.

The resulting coffee is a wonderful expression of the work behind it, combining marzipan sweetness, ripe plum, refreshing melon and delicate florals.

With just 1kg of green coffee secured for What’s Bean Grinding, this is a genuinely small release, roasted with care in the Scottish Highlands to celebrate the remarkable character of Aragash's coffee.

This coffee undergoes traditional natural processing, carried out by Aragash and her family on their own farm.

Ripe coffee cherries are selectively hand-picked and spread across raised African drying beds, where they remain inside their fruit throughout the drying process.

Over approximately 15–18 days, the cherries are turned regularly to encourage even drying and are covered overnight and during rainfall.

Once dried, the cherries are transported to the Gedeb dry mill, where the dried fruit and parchment are removed.

Further milling takes place in Dunkem, where the coffee is destoned, screened, gravity sorted and colour sorted to remove defects and prepare the finished green beans for export.

Drying the coffee inside the whole cherry allows fruit-derived flavours to develop, contributing to the coffee's distinctive sweetness and expressive character.

Aragash Gelcha operates a five-hectare family farm in Halo Shashemene village, where coffee grows alongside enset (false banana) and fruit trees. This diversified approach provides both a commercial crop and food for her family.

Since changes to Ethiopian export regulations in 2018, Aragash has held her own coffee export licence, giving her the opportunity to participate more directly in international coffee markets.

However, access to reliable and fairly priced markets remains challenging, highlighting the importance of transparent sourcing relationships.

Aragash and her family work together on the farm throughout the year, maintaining its productivity through careful agricultural management.

The coffee is sourced through Omwani, an African-focused green coffee company established in 2018 that prioritises long-term producer relationships and traceability.