Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 1 Honey Hafursa Waro GrainPro GrainPro

Coffee Background

Recent changes in the Ethiopian export rules have opened new opportunities to develop relationships with vertically integrated suppliers. Royal has seized on the opportunity to work directly with Tracon Coffee, which owns and operates a private washing stations in a Hafursa Waro, located in the heart of the coveted Yirgacheffe growing region. Hafursa Waro receives cherries from producers who cultivate coffee on just a few acres of land. Upon arrival, cherries are carefully hand sorted and floated to separate out less dense beans, then depulped and placed on raised beds with the mucilage still attached to the bean. This honey processed coffee requires careful dedication for constant movement and air circulation for a period of several weeks to gently reduce the moisture to 11 percent. Tracon Coffee also has its own dry mill, which allows for traceability all the way through to the final export stage. Earnings are used to fuel social impact in the communities where they source coffee. They have invested in more localized cherry collection sites to reduce the transportation cost for small producers. They are also responding to the local needs for investing in food security initiatives.