We are proud to be working with Steve from Unravel Coffee merchants again for this release. He along with his partner Ashenafi, who is on the ground in Ethiopia year-round, are focused on creating sustainability in coffee pricing, teaching, and growing the staff at each of the sites they work on. If you are familiar with Yirgacheffe, it is hard to believe that a town so tiny could have such a reputation. Its renown, however, is well-earned. The region is densely populated (second only to Addis Ababa), making the diversity of the ecosystem even more impressive. While a large percentage of the area’s population grows coffee as a cash crop, a majority are subsistence farmers growing many types of fruits, vegetables, and beans. Idido (ee-DEE-do) was established in 1998 and is a private washing station located just north of the town of Yirga Chefe, in the heart of the coveted Gedeo Zone. The Gedeo region is named after the Gedeo people who are indigenous to this area. There are nearly 2,000 members in the Idido co-op. These producers typically have very small plots of land around their homes, averaging 1.5 hectares, diversely planted with cover crops such as Enset, Adeneguare, Bolokea, and Avocado – along with various shade trees like Birebera, Dokima, Besana, and Girawa. The idido station is known for careful fermenting, sorting, and drying routines executed to perfection throughout the dramatic temperature fluctuations of Yirgacheffe’s unique high-elevation climate. This coffee was dried for 18 days on raised beds and frequently covered during the hottest hours of the afternoon when solar radiation is at its most intense and threatens to split the coffee’s brittle parchment layer. This results in a coffee with high-intensity acidity, aromatics, and sweetness, all while keeping the flavors extremely clear and in the forefront.