YABITU KOBA NATURAL, Ethiopia

Last year, we released Yabitu Koba as a washed coffee, and this year we were able to bring that coffee back while also getting our hands on something new: Yabitu Koba Natural.

This is one of our favorite new coffees we've released, and we're really excited for everyone to try it. The natural process brings out a completely different expression of Yabitu Koba, juicy, vibrant, and intensely fruit-forward, with notes of fruit punch, kiwi, and lime.

If you enjoyed last year's washed Yabitu Koba, this is a fun opportunity to taste how much the processing method can change the character of a coffee.

Yabitu Koba comes from the Uraga district of Guji, in Ethiopia's Oromia region. Guji is one of Ethiopia's oldest coffee-growing areas, and Koba is a remote kebele, a small local community, that can be particularly difficult to access during the rainy season.

Getting coffee out of Koba is no easy task. Producers transport their cherries from farms along dirt roads, often using horses, mules, or donkeys. From Koba, coffee makes its way by road to Hawassa, followed by a local flight to Addis Ababa before eventually making its way out of Ethiopia.

The coffee farms surrounding Koba are small, averaging just 1–2 hectares per producer, and sit at an impressive 2,316 meters above sea level.

Koba's producers are part of the Oromo community and speak Oromiffa. Coffee farming here is deeply connected to generations of local knowledge and tradition.

Producers intercrop their coffee with native false banana trees, maize, Korch, Wanza, and Sesa, using these plants for shade and selecting them based on the needs and age of their coffee trees.

The region's naturally fertile sandy loam soil has excellent water retention and drainage, allowing producers to grow exceptional coffee without relying on fertilizer when proper planting practices are followed.

This lot is processed as a natural, meaning the coffee cherries are dried whole with the fruit still surrounding the seed.

The cherries are carefully dried on African drying beds for 15–21 days, allowing the coffee to develop the intense fruit character and sweetness we're tasting in the cup.