SCFCU Story of the West Dharma Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union of the Ethiopian Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union

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Located in southern Ethiopia, Sidama is the YCFCU second only to Yirgacheffe, with dry / rich fruit aromas, with hints of flowers, classic citrus peel and grapefruit to create a surprisingly smooth, clean and ripe flavor for acidity and layers, as well as the thick and complete flavor of Yejaschafe producing areas.

Flavor description:

Washed Sidamo Coffee is a typical high-quality coffee with dry / rich fruit aromas, with hints of flowers, classic citrus peel and grapefruit flavors to create smooth lines and layers with sweet aromas of dried peaches and lemon peel. Wet / citrus and berry sweetness, with a hint of spicy and complex fruit aromas such as cloves and ginger and a mellow taste with wine, as thick and complete as the surprisingly clean and ripe flavor and Yega Chet Coffee region.

The Sidama Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Federation (SCFCU) was established in 2001 to represent the Sidamo Coffee producers' Cooperative located in the Sidama region of southern Ethiopia on the local and international markets. Today, SCFCU has grown into 51 cooperatives and more than 76000 smallholder families, making SCFCU the second largest coffee farmers' cooperative union in Ethiopia.

Coffee produced by SCFCU member cooperatives is a low-density shade grown under the canopy of indigenous trees and enset (fake bananas) and is a major food crop for Sidama families. The Sidama region straddles the rugged mountains of Bensa Valley and Aleta Windu-which provides a series of quality profiles to reflect this rich production landscape.

Sidama washed coffee shows significant acidity and fruit flavors ranging from red fruit blueberry and sweet organic rich lemon aromas and flavors to medium body and a bitter cocoa finish. At higher elevations in the Sidama area-often referred to as "Yirgacheffe" coffee-this is a unique, delicate bergamot and lemon flavor.

Sidamo Natural process (unwashed) provides a high quality profile with candied strawberry or blueberry fruit flavor, low acidity and rich, full body.

Direct procurement began with SCFCU in 2009. Since then, we have had the opportunity to establish direct relationships with a number of cooperatives in the SCFCU community over the years, including Shilcho, Homacho Waeno, Talamo, Goodwill, Abera Galuko and Fero cooperatives.

During our recent visit to the Sidama region, we met with Khami Tsacaleja, a 56-year-old founding member of the SCFCU Fero Cooperative.

Khami inherited his father's farm and has been working for the past 36 years. His father started the plot by planting trees-but Khami continued to do all the field maintenance. He has prepared compost and planted soil retention barriers with vetiver and other useful crops; he manages pruning, pocketing, hoeing and other tasks to ensure good yield and good quality.

"the cooperative serves us very well," he said. "We can sell our coffee, collect the money right away, or we can sell the coffee and keep our money stored in the cooperative. It's like a savings account for us.

"once the harvest is over and the cooperative sees how well it has done, we will get a second reward," he explained. " The money is at a time when we need extra income to get through the future lean month. "

Members of SCFCU have been growing and processing fine Sidamo coffee for 30 years. Overall, the Sidama Alliance produces about 10, 000 tons of high-quality organic coffee beans a year, nearly 95% of which is washed. Since 2003, SCFCU has been certified by the International Fair Trade labelling Organization (Flo) to support it as a bridge for developing producer-buyer relations and direct export members of extraordinary, high-quality coffee to the international, gourmet market.

Original bean origin: Sidamo Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (SCFCU)

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