STAPLE l Bale Bati Natural Heirloom Ethiopia

Origin: Uraga, Ethiopia

Producer: Various Smallholders

Process: Natural

Varietal: 74112, 74110

Tasting Notes: Strawberry, Apples, Bergamots

Uraga Suke is a natural-processing station in southern Ethiopia owned and operated by Tracon Coffee, an independent exporter that manages multiple processing sites across the region.

Farmers deliver fresh cherry daily, which is hand-sorted and washed on arrival to ensure uniform ripeness and cleanliness, then weighed, logged, and moved to raised beds to dry. Drying takes 8–25 days depending on weather, which fluctuates considerably given the station's high-altitude, forested environment; cherry is rotated throughout the day and covered at night to prevent humidity from settling on the skins.

 Once fully dried, the cherry is rested for several weeks to stabilize moisture content and water activity before being hulled locally and transported to Addis Ababa for final milling and export.