Abdulwahid Sherif, Kossa Geshe Estate, Limu Kossa, Organic Natural, Bag Ferment, Grade 1, ORG

Kossa Geshe is located in Western Ethiopia's Limmu Kossa District, in the highlands of the Kebena Forest. This 1,000 hectare farm was established in 2009 as a land grant from Ethiopia's investment agency to safeguard some of the last remaining dense forest in the country. Here, Abdul runs the show. His first harvest was 2016 and Crop to Cup has bought every bean since, entranced by his qualities and the cup characteristics from day one. The story of Kossa Geshe is one of meteoric rise. In 2016 he began running the farm and two years later his coffee won a Good Food Award - one of the first coffees out of the west to earn the distinction and to truly compete with the excellent naturals coming from Southern Ethiopia's Sidamo and Yirgacheffe regions. Abdul continues to reinvest—from a new moisture meter, to a 7500 m sq drying patio (to go with raised beds) completed in 2018. It goes without saying that quality is continually on his mind.

Crop to Cup doesn't normally work with estates, but Abdul has been an exception. In 2017 we conducted a full social audit with him and came back with quite a few recommendations. The very next year, we come to find that he's built a school on the farm for children before they go to 1st grade. He's built new toilets for the workers, 8 meters deep. In addition, he's implemented a ledger system for employees and their wages - a form of transparency that needed to be completed.

Abdul is a man of action. It's been a pleasure to see such a quick metamorphosis from a new producer and we're annually excited to welcome his coffees to the U.S.