Gobena Bendo | Ethiopia

At 65, Gobena Bendo has spent a lifetime growing coffee.He inherited his 10-hectare farm from his father and hopes one day to pass it on to his children, many of whom still live nearby and help with the farm. Sitting at around 2,200–2,300 metres above sea level in Yirgacheffe, Gobena’s farm benefits from the high elevation, shade and growing conditions that have made this part of Ethiopia so renowned for coffee. Alongside coffee, he grows cereals to help provide food for his family throughout the year. What makes this lot particularly special is its traceability. Gobena’s coffee forms part of the Single Farmer Project, an initiative established to create a marketplace for individually separated Ethiopian coffees and give producers greater visibility. Rather than being blended into a larger regional lot, this coffee can be traced directly back to Gobena and his farm. The coffee is washed, highlighting the clarity and elegance we look for from Yirgacheffe. It’s exactly why we bought it: expressive and distinctly Ethiopian, but with the added connection of knowing the individual farmer behind it.