Ethiopia — Basha Bekele Kokose JARC 74158 (Natural)

Tastes Like — 🫐 Jammy Berries • 🍑 Apricot • 🍑 Nectarine • 🍫 Milk Chocolate

DETAILS

• Producer: Basha Bekele
• Station: Kokose Drying Station
• Region: Bombe, Bensa, Sidama, Ethiopia
• Varietal: JARC 74158
• Process: Natural
• Altitude: 2,231 MASL
• Harvest: 2025
• Size: 250g

INTRO

A third year working with Basha Bekele — and the first time featuring his Natural Kokose lot. Profiled for espresso and roasted to a light-medium to unlock its full sweetness and body, this JARC 74158 from Bombe delivers a jammy, indulgent, and deeply satisfying cup. In the cup: jammy berries, sweet apricot, nectarine, and a silky milk chocolate body that excels both black and with dairy.

THE PRODUCER

Basha Bekele is one of Ethiopia's most committed and community-minded producers. Before the government made it possible for smallholders to obtain export licences, both Basha and his father sold their cherry to the cooperative. Basha now holds his own export licence and cultivates primarily JARC 74158 — known locally as "Walega" — across 12 hectares of semi-forested plots in Bombe. In addition to his own farm, he operates collection sites in Bombe, Shantawane, and Kokose, purchasing cherry from smallholder producers growing coffee at elevations as high as 2,300 MASL.

A family man with deep roots in the community, Bekele runs his farms and drying stations with the help of his family — including his son Beleteno, who manages the Hora Ganet farm after recently graduating from Hawassa University with an economics degree. Between his Bombe farm and a smaller five-hectare plot in Kokose, Bekele purchases cherry from over 100 smallholders, producing a total of 1.5 containers of coffee per season. The addition of a de-pulper — made possible through support from importer Crop to Cup — has opened the door to new processing experiments like this natural Kokose lot.

JARC 74158, approved for release by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre in 1979, was selected for its high yield potential and resistance to coffee berry disease. At over 2,200 MASL in Sidama, it produces a naturally processed cup of exceptional sweetness, fruit complexity, and body.

THE PROCESS

The Natural process at Kokose involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness 🔍 Sorting — Carefully sorted before drying to ensure only ripe, defect-free cherries proceed ☀️ Natural drying — Whole cherries dried with fruit and mucilage intact, allowing natural sugars to be slowly absorbed into the bean throughout the drying period

The whole-fruit natural drying is the defining step — the bean rests inside the intact cherry throughout, slowly developing the jammy berry sweetness, stone fruit depth, and silky milk chocolate body that make this lot so compelling as an espresso.

THE CUP

A rich, jammy, and deeply satisfying natural espresso from one of Sidama's most dedicated producers — berries and stone fruit sweetness layered over a silky milk chocolate body, clean and indulgent in equal measure. Exceptional both as a black espresso and with dairy.

Flavour Notes

🫐 Jammy Berries 🍑 Apricot 🍑 Nectarine 🍫 Milk Chocolate