Ethiopia Kokose Murago Natural

What We Love

As the Ethiopian coffee harvest comes to a close, our final release takes center stage as a fitting finale to an incredible season. This year, we delved into new regions, collaborated with innovative producers, and explored diverse processing methods, deepening our appreciation for Ethiopia’s evolving coffee landscape. 

Kokose Murago is a vibrant expression of Bensa’s exceptional growing conditions and the region’s rising prominence in the coffee world. This coffee offers layers of flavor, with dark fruit notes of black grape, complemented by the warmth of black tea, the complexity of star anise, and the florality of violet.

About the Producer

Bekele Utute’s Kokose farm, located in Ethiopia's Bensa region, has gained recognition for its exceptional coffee. The farm placed fifth in the 2021 Ethiopia Cup of Excellence, and the lot was named after his nephew, Samuel, who manages Bekele's Kokose drying station. Bekele, who grew up in a coffee-growing family, purchased the Kokose farm in 2019 and has since dedicated himself to producing high-quality dry processed coffees. 

At Kokose, Bekele grows primarily the 74158 variety, which is common among quality-focused farms in Bensa. This variety, developed by the Djimma Agricultural Research Center in the 1970s, is known for its bright citrus acidity, stone fruit sweetness, and delicate floral notes. Like at his other drying station near Dembe, where he was born, Bekele processes dry naturals and anaerobics for export. These coffees are sold directly to specialty markets in the U.S. and Korea, after Bekele obtained his export license in 2021.

About the Coffee

The landscape of Ethiopian coffee has undergone significant changes in recent years. Traditionally, smallholder farmers delivered their coffee to washing stations for processing, but new laws have allowed medium-sized farmers like Bekele to obtain their own export licenses. This shift has created opportunities for farmers to bypass local intermediaries and sell directly to buyers, allowing them to experiment with innovative processing methods and establish their own brand reputations. 

Bekele has embraced these changes and successfully built a name for himself with his direct sales approach, both cultivating and processing coffees from his own farms and those of neighboring farmers. His success was recently cemented when his coffee placed fifth in the 2024 Ethiopia Cup of Excellence, highlighting his rising prominence in Ethiopia's highly competitive coffee market.

The Bensa region, part of Ethiopia’s Sidamo Zone, is known for its ideal climate for coffee cultivation—warm days, cool nights, and altitudes above 2,000 meters. This environment, combined with the competitive coffee culture, drives farmers like Bekele to constantly push for quality and innovation in their harvesting and processing techniques. This selection, "Murago," comes from Bekele's Kokose farm, where he exclusively produces dry-processed natural coffees. This is our first import from Bekele Utute, and it exemplifies the excellence emerging from Ethiopia’s evolving coffee landscape.