Odako as a symbol of harmony

Daye Bensa, the export company behind many beautiful Ethiopian coffees (including our regular coffee Ethiopia Sidamo ), runs a special program for high quality specialty coffee: Gatta Farm.

Gatta Farm is located in the heart of Shantawene Village, in the Sidamo region. The farm is located at an altitude of 2120-2210 meters above sea level, in the middle of a completely natural forest.

The plantations are surrounded by more than 100 years old native trees, waterfalls and rivers. Sounds like a mystical place! Gatta Farm is named after a waterfall that crosses the farm.

The discovery and development

Before Gatta Farm was discovered by co-founder Mulugeta Dukamo, it was a completely natural forest. In 2012 they planted the first coffee and in 2017 they set up a 'drying station'.

The forest around the farm was very useful as natural shade and the work is mainly carried out by the local residents. Women are mainly asked for quality control and the men for more labour-intensive tasks.

Gatta Farm has been a huge success in the area since the start due to more opportunities for well-paid work. In addition to the farm and drying station, Gatta Farm is also a training facility for coffee-related education.

Quality management

The coffee that we have included in the range, the Ethiopia Odako, is a natural 'processed' coffee. They are the first to float the berries in special tanks to remove unripe berries.

Then they are dried on so-called African drying beds. Green berries are removed manually and the coffee is turned every 30 (!) minutes to ensure an even process. Speaking of quality…

Odako

Odako was not just chosen as the name for this coffee. Odako is a tree that serves as a central meeting point for the Shantawene community where potential conflicts are discussed and resolved. Similar traditions can also be found in other parts of Ethiopia.

An eye for the environment

Daye Bensa has always had an eye for the environment and Gatta Farm is no different. After each 'washing phase', residual products are properly disposed of and mainly converted into natural fertilizers and compost for further use on the farm.

The preservation of the natural state of the forest is also central and everything is organized around the natural process.

Certifications

In 2020, Daye Bensa received organic certification to start exporting fully organic crops. Our import partner The Coffee Quest will follow these developments closely. Other certifications from Daye Bensa include: UTZ & RainForest Alliance.

Have you already brought this cutie into your home? We are curious what you think.

In case you got curious, the coffee is roasted for slow coffee and has taste notes of raspberry, cantaloupe and milk chocolate (and of course many more flavors that only your mouth can tell you). You can find the coffee here !