Ethiopia Bette Buna Kickstart Natural

This "kickstart" natural coffee is super sugary and juicy thanks to a special processing technique developed by our good friends at Bette Buna. The cherries were flash-fermented before continuing with the natural process, giving them an extra burst of sweetness alongside fruity-floral notes of cherry juice and coffee blossom. This is the coffee we want to drink all day, every day!

For a bit more about Bette Buna, check out our blog post here or read on below ...

Betta Buna was founded by partners Hester Westerveld-Syoum and Dawit Syoum when they inherited their grandfather’s tiny family farm in Taferi Kela, Sidamo. With a background in NGO and development work, they decided to grow and scale the farm as the foundation for a larger company with greater impact.

Starting in 2019, they have now grown considerably, expanding the Taferi Kela farm from 2 to 50 hectares and spreading to a second 50-hectare farm in Megadu, Guji. Both farms have tree nurseries where climate change-resistant varietals are grown to share with surrounding farmers. Similarly, they have facilities where they not only process their own lots but also educate other farmers in processing techniques, while their Coffee Campus programme provides training in roasting, brewing, and even exporting. They provide countless opportunities for their farming communities by not only teaching and motivating farmers but also hiring local workers at their nurseries and mills, including single mothers and disabled people who would struggle to find employment elsewhere. They also prioritise sustainable farming methods, rewild forests on their land, and protect local wildlife to promote ecosystem health for future generations. We're proud to support Bette Buna and plan to partner with them for many years to come.

To create this lot, the cherries were given a “kick” by putting them in an anaerobic environment for a short amount of time before continuing processing. Not long enough for official fermentation to begin, but long enough for the structure of the sugar within the cherries to change. After this, the coffee was dried normally on raised African-style beds.

Once the correct moisture level was reached, the cherry was bagged, tagged, and stored for a minimum of 8 weeks to improve the complexity and intensity of the cup profile. After dry milling locally to remove the hulls, the team applied another round of hand sorting to remove any primary defects. After that, the bags of green coffee were loaded on a truck to take a 3-5 day drive to the Bette Buna dry mill in Gelan, close to Addis Ababa. Here the green beans underwent another round of cleaning, screening, and colour sorting, and were bagged a final time, ready to be exported.

Elevation: 1900-2100 MASL
Varietal: 74112, 74110, Wild Guji Megadu
Cup score: 87
Price paid per kg: £15.56
Process: Kickstart natural