Ethiopia Teshale Heurioso

Know where your coffee comes from

Teshale Heurioso is known in the microregion of Bona Qeqe (part of the larger Bona region of Sidama) as one of the finest coffee farmers.

Teshale, 46, is the second generation of his family to cultivate this highland land, where he now spends most of his time farming with his wife and six children. And they do it well, with near-perfect green beans and no lower quality waste, nearly 90% sieve size 14 and above, and quickly reaching grade 1 quality.

Before starting to export coffee from his farm, he was an active member and treasurer of the local cooperative in Bona for six years. During that time, he would recounts that he dreamed of exporting on his own, and in 2019, he started exporting his first batch. Teshale currently uses Heleph Coffee's technical protocol for harvesting and drying, producing a modest volume of 100 bags (Grade 1 quality) per year.

Teshale carefully select ripe cherries to ensure the best quality beans: too green and the beans may have a sour taste; too ripe and the bean may be past their prime and even close to rotting. After picking the coffee cherries from the coffee trees, they are spread out thin layers to dry in the sun. Teshale use African Raised Beds to enable air to flow around the cherries, thus even drying. The cherries are turned regularly to avoid mould, fermentation, or rotting.
After the cherries have been thoroughly dried, they’re sent to mills for hulling. That means the separation of the seeds from the rest of the dried fruit. Once the cherries are properly dry, the skin and dried fruit flesh are removed, and the green coffee is stored.

Want to know more? Check our Direct Trade page here.