Haru Suke, Ethiopia

Grown by smallholder farmers in the kabele (town) of Haru Suke, this coffee comes from Gedeo, Yirgacheffe. Most of these farmers grow coffee with other subsistence crops, such as sweet potato, mango, and avocados. 

The exporters, Primrose PLC, incentivises farmers for bringing quality red cherry, and great care is taken to separate any unripe or damaged beans, ensuring quality. Most coffee grown in this area is 100% organic, but not certified. This is due to the fact that farmers simply do not have the capital to apply pesticides or chemical fertilisers. Primrose works closely with each farmer, ensuring the fertility of the farm. 

Coffee is selectively hand-picked before being delivered to the mill collection points, where great care is taken to separate out any overripe, underripe, or damaged beans, before each lot is consolidated with other lots. 

The cherries then make their way to the wet mill, where it is floated and dried on raised beds. Here, it is thinly spread and regularly turned over the course of several weeks, until the desired moisture content of 12% is reached. 

Varietals of coffee grown here are typically referred to as ‘heirloom’ – a catchall terminology which often masks the wide assortment of varieties. 'Landraces’, meaning a traditional variety of species that have developed over time, is an increasingly common alternative term. 

Some of these varieties had also been developed by Ethiopia’s Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC), and the varietals indicated here are named as such. Since the late 1960s, JARC has been working to develop resistant varieties for the Ethiopian coffee industry, while providing agricultural extension training on the cultivation of these varieties. 

This lot is estimated to contain a large percentage of JARC 740110 and 74112 varieties, developed in 1974 by JARC, which are directly descended from local landraces indigenous to the Gedeo region. Most farmers have a mix of both the improved and the indigenous landrace varieties on their farms, inherited from parents and grandparents. 

Stay tuned, and stay safe! 

Let us know what you think about the coffees in your Surprise Box. Tag us at @ppp.coffee and hashtag #PPPCoffeeSurprise.

Not a subscriber? Join now and get two unique bags of coffees delivered to your doorstep from just SGD26 per month.