The time has come for our first Ethiopian coffee of the year! Burtukaana Bombe is a delicious naturally processed coffee from the Sidama region. This is such a great representation of what Ethiopian coffees can offer. Full-bodied and syrupy, with a rich peachy flavour and a pleasant floral finish. Bombe, a washing station in the Sidama region, is home to 750 active coffee farmers who primarily grow organic coffee on small plots of land (2-5 hectares). Besides coffee, they cultivate other crops for sustenance and sale. The station is owned by Faisel Abdosh, whose early exposure to the coffee industry through his coffee-farming relatives influenced his career path. The impact of Faisel's business on the community is significant, with around twenty permanent staff members employed. Additionally, in collaboration with customers, they have contributed to building two schools in Guji and Yirgacheffe. Currently, they are planning to construct water pumps to provide the community with clean drinking water. The processing of the coffee starts with cherry selection, where family members handpick the ripe cherries, discarding the underripe and overripe ones. The cherries are then moved to drying beds, and over the initial days, defective cherries are manually sorted out. For natural processing, the level of fermentation is determined by factors like thickness, layers, and temperature during the early drying period. At higher altitudes, fermentation is slower due to lower temperatures. The cherries are dried in thin layers initially and then gradually built up to thicker layers. Frequent movement of the coffee and covering it during the hottest and most humid hours of the day aids in improving quality and achieving more uniform drying. Drying naturals at these altitudes can take up to 21 days. Afterward, the mechanically removed skin and mucilage leave the coffee beans to be packed in GrainPro bags and stored in the local warehouse. This conditioning process continues for 1-2 months before the coffee is eventually moved.