Ethiopia Sasaba Natural

Sasaba is a washing station in Guji run by Tsegay Hagos Tesfaye. To get here, you have to drive past Yirgacheffe, along older roads (muddy paths really), and through the otherworldly cloud-crowned mountains of the area. If you have the right vehicle and it is not too muddy, you will make it to the fertile district of Kercha. Here coffee farmers grow on small plots of land around 2000 meters above sea level. Sasaba is equipped with over 600 African raised drying beds and a network of 500 smallholder farmers in the hills around the wet mill. 

Our importer behind this coffee, Trabocca, connected with Tsegay and visited Sasaba in 2012. This partnership has been going strong since 2013. The mill makes it a point to work with the area's most experienced farmers, offering premiums for their coffee when quality standards are met. Tsegay Hagos knows that the success of the Sasaba mill is closely tied to that of the smallholders. “Sasaba does not grow alone, we support our farmers and train them, so they can one day export their own coffee.”

Sourced from the Guji region of Ethiopia, the Ethiopia Sasaba Natural is a testament to the meticulous work of producer Tsegay Hagos Tesfaye. Grown at 2000 masl, this lot highlights the distinct character of the Guji zone, an area celebrated for its diverse heirloom varieties and complex cup profiles. As a natural-processed coffee, the cherries are dried with the fruit intact, a technique that often imparts a syrupy body and pronounced sweetness to the final brew. You can learn more about the nuances of this technique in our guide to processing methods.

Roasted by Backyard Beans Coffee Co., this selection invites you to explore the intersection of traditional Ethiopian cultivation and careful post-harvest handling. To better understand the specific descriptors you might encounter while brewing, we recommend referencing our flavor wheel to help identify and articulate the unique sensory attributes present in this vibrant, fruit-forward coffee.