We were immediately attracted to the coffee from Sasaba washing station. The very pronounced, clean and sweet cup combined with strong stone-fruit flavours, captured our attention from the start. Coffee with potential, but the road to Sasaba washing station can be hazardous. “The road was too rough, even for our Land Cruisers. We ceased our journey for the time being, and eventually had to find a Soviet-Era Kamas truck with 6-wheel drive to reach the washing station. We succeeded. While visiting the site, we noticed how organized the production was; and how much potential there was to produce great coffee. We discussed our quality requirements with Tsegaye, the owner of Sasaba washing station, and started to build an efficient coffee supply chain.” – Sander Reuderink, Commercial Director at Trabocca.

At Sasaba washing station, the red cherries are produced in the area surrounding the washing station, and are collected from late September until December. Cherries are processed on-site and fermented for about 48-72 hours, before they are placed on the drying beds for around 7-8 days. The natural coffees are usually dried for 15-20 days. The smallholder farmers, that sell their cherries to the washing station, usually own around 10-15 coffee trees. Besides coffee, they grow subsistence crops such as maize, surgum-eans and peas.