Coffee Processing

Natural coffee which is also known as sun-dried and among Dararo coffee farmers constitutes the largest coffee type produced in Gedeo zone. After harvesting, overripe and insect/pest damaged cherries and other defected cherries are sorted out. Well-ripen red cherries remain on a raised bed (usually called African raised bed) for further drying under the sun for 18-21 days. A total of 11 Kg of red cherry per square meter is distributed on a drying bed made of Bamboo mat. To maintain uniform drying among beans, coffee is turned around on the bed manually six times per day. The cherry is then covered with nylon mesh and plastic during the night time. Starting the 15th day, the trend of bean moisture loss is monitored to pull the dried cherry off the bed if the coffee bean attains a moisture level between 9.5% and 10.5%. This natural coffee processing technique plus the complex interactions among soil, rainfall distribution, temperature, shade, and genetic make of the varieties play the greatest role to create the unique and high quality profiles.