A fruity espresso like a basket full of summer fruits—you’ll taste ripe nectarine, raspberry jam, hibiscus, and a delicate, wine-like acidity—a typical natural-processed coffee from Sidamo.
Shantawene is a small village in the Bensa district of the famous Sidama coffee region in southern Ethiopia. The region is known for its specialty coffee with an impressive variety of flavors due to fertile volcanic soils and optimal growing conditions.
The coffee cherries grow on small farms at altitudes between 2,000 and 2,400 meters. Many of the producers cultivate less than five hectares of land and traditionally grow their coffee alongside fruits, vegetables, and other crops. This natural mixed cultivation promotes biodiversity and has been deeply rooted in Sidama for generations. Chemical fertilizers or pesticides are usually not used – cultivation is practically "organic by default."
The coffee is named after the village of Shantawene, where many of the processing station's employees come from – including numerous women who make an important contribution to coffee production. Surrounded by pristine forests and native tree species over 200 years old, coffee is produced here in a unique landscape crisscrossed by small rivers.
After selective harvesting, the farmers bring their coffee cherries to the washing station. Here, only fully ripe cherries are accepted, carefully sorted, and cleaned. For this Natural process, the coffee cherries are dried on raised drying beds for 8–25 days in the sun or shade. During this drying phase, they are regularly turned to ensure even drying. This elaborate process gives the coffee its distinct sweetness, intense fruitiness, and the aromatic complexity typical of Ethiopian Naturals.
A vibrant, characterful coffee that impressively demonstrates why Ethiopia is considered the cradle of coffee.
