Inside a Sidamo Coffee Farm: The Kebado Cooperative
Kebado is a small cooperative in the Dara area of Sidamo Province, Ethiopia, formed by hundreds of farmers who each work roughly 0.6 hectares at close to 2,000 meters. Green beans carry raisin and fermented wine aromas, and after roasting, light or dark, the cup shows bright berry notes with a chocolate-like finish.
Large day-to-night temperature swings and fertile soil support coffee cultivation on these small plots. Trabocca, a Dutch company, runs the Red Cherry Project here, providing loans, new equipment and technical support in production and processing, with payment tied to whether output meets the standards set in their cupping labs. Flavors include berries, tropical fruit, date pit, tea and milk chocolate.
Kebado is a small coffee cooperative in the Dara region of Sidamo Province, composed of hundreds of coffee farmers, with an average planting area of only about 0.6 hectares and an altitude close to 2,000 meters. The significant temperature difference between day and night and the fertile soil here provide ideal conditions for coffee cultivation. The green beans naturally carry rich raisin and fermented wine aromas, with an elongated bean shape and a yellow-brown color, feeling solid in hand. After roasting, whether light or dark, they display bright berry notes and a chocolate-like lingering aftertaste. This article will guide you through an in-depth understanding of Kebado's flavor characteristics and introduce how the Red Cherry Project led by the Dutch company Trabocca enhances coffee quality in remote areas of Ethiopia through technical assistance and quality control. Front Street Coffee recommends that you pay attention to the unique charm of this region.
The Kebado cooperative is located in a small town in the Dara region of Sidamo Province. It is small in scale and jointly formed by hundreds of coffee farmers. Each farmer owns on average only about 0.6 hectares of planting land, at an altitude close to 2,000 meters. The local temperature difference between day and night is large, and the soil is fertile, creating a superior growing environment for coffee trees. The green beans themselves emit a distinct raisin and fermented wine aroma. Visually, the beans are nearly yellow-brown, relatively small in size, and of an elongated type, yet they feel quite weighty in the hand. After roasting, we noticed that whether using light or dark roasting, this bean can present bright berry aromas or a rich, chocolate-like aftertaste, with a rather striking performance.
In terms of flavor, one can capture layers of berries, tropical fruits, fermented wine aromas, date pits, tea-like notes, and milk chocolate. The body is medium, with a cocoa aroma in the finish, mixed with a hint of spice and tea fragrance, complex and lasting. When the coffee is cooled and then drunk, the mouthfeel is cleaner and the balance is more prominent.
Trabocca provides farmers with financial loans, new hardware equipment, and knowledge and technical support in production and processing. They promise that as long as the actual output quality meets the standards set in their cupping rooms in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, they will purchase it at a premium price. This year, Trabocca set the passing score at 88 points. After processing at the origin, the coffee beans of the Red Cherry Project are immediately packed in GrainPro plastic inner bags or vacuum boxes in separate bags, then transported to Djibouti to await shipping. Through real-time monitoring, safe transportation, and timely and appropriate handling, they strive to achieve perfect quality.
The Red Cherry Project is led by the Dutch trading company Trabocca BV, with partial funding from the Dutch government. It has been implemented since 2005 and is a program aimed at improving the quality of small-scale farms. The project enhances coffee production capacity and quality in remote areas of Ethiopia by providing producers with professional technical and related technological assistance. Since its launch in 2005, the project has selected small high-altitude coffee cooperatives in the three regions of Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, and Limu. They encourage and assist producers in improving washed, semi-washed, natural, or other experimental processing methods to enhance coffee quality. At the same time, professional cuppers are stationed in the production areas to directly grasp the coffee flavors and ensure the quality of each batch through testing. Before the harvest season, Trabocca invites selected smallholder organizations or producers to participate in the production of micro-lot coffees, each batch about 1,500 to 3,000 kilograms, and carefully hand-selects 100% ripe red coffee cherries in stages, hence the name Red Cherry Project.
Front Street Coffee suggests that if you want to experience the unique flavor of this bean, you might try light roasting to fully appreciate its layers of berry and fermented wine aromas.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
