Ethiopia - Tadesse Yonka Natural

Technical Info

Producers: Tadesse Yonka - Gamacho Washing Station
Region: Bensa, Sidama, Ethiopia
Process: Natural
Elevation: 2,250 meters above sea level
Varietal: Indigenous Heirloom

About the Producer

The following write up has been provided by our importing partners, Catalyst Trade.

Tadesse Yonka, owner of the Gamacho washing station, has been in the coffee business as a local supplier and processor of Sidama coffee for more than 20 years. As such, he now employs more than 70 seasonal and daily workers for selective purchasing, transporting, pulping, sorting and drying cherries or parchment.

            Over the years, Tadesse has built an excellent relationship with the growers that bring their ripe cherries to his site. This number has grown to 250 registered farmers who have come to rely on Tadesse’s expertise at Gamacho washing station. Known for the extra care he takes to acquire good quality red cherries, as well as savvy sorting, processing and drying, not only does Tadesse provide skill-building training to his client farmers on all aspects of coffee production, he also supports their initiatives in establishing their own coffee nursery sites and provides supply and quality-based price incentives for bringing high quality cherries to the Gamacho washing station. 

         In addition to this wet mill, Tadesse also owns a dry mill in Daye, Bensa, and provides milling and warehousing services to other coffee producers in the area. He is a trusted coffee producer/supplier, and always strives to improve the quality of the coffee he processes. Tadesse and his wife, Mrs. Bekelech Burka, have nine children, six of whom are directly involved in coffee sourcing, transportation, pulping/milling, and drying. 

This is a single-producer lot which means that Tadesse’s coffee was processed separately from the bulk of coffee at the mill and allowed to shine on its own.