Worku Buche’s Kadela wet mill is located in the Aroresa woreda at the eastern tip of Sidama. Smallholders with farms at 1,900 to 2,000masl in the area contribute to the coffee processed here, and it’s all sorted under Worku’s watchful eye. Kadela is a family-owned business named after the river running through Aroresa, and Worku brings over two decades of experience in coffee and other industries to running the mill. In addition to Kadela, his operation includes four other wet mills and one dry mill in Sidama.
Worku’s work supports smallholders across over 250 hectares of land and adds value to their coffee through natural, washed, honey, or anaerobic processing, bringing Sidama coffee to the international market and over 75 consumer countries.
Ethiopian Sidama Worku Buche
- FLAVOR: Lychee, Pomegranate, Brown Spice, Chocolate, Cane Sugar, Hibiscus
- BODY: Light
- ACIDITY: Medium
- PROCESS: Natural
Sidama is a fertile region in southern Ethiopia that spans across the highlands of Lake Awasa in the Rift Valley. The high altitudes that soar beyond 2000masl are where Arabica coffee trees grow and ripen slowly in the cool temperatures, resulting in complex flavor profiles and distinct aromas that are characteristic of Sidama green coffee. The region is home to nearly 8 million people with distinct cultures and traditions among 36 districts that encompass over 50 coffee cooperatives and around 200 washing stations.
Traceability is a key focus at Benti Neka, where a voucher system is used to track each coffee lot throughout the production chain. This system ensures that every step, from the receiving station to the drying stage, is documented, tying the coffee back to the farmers who produced it.