Ethiopia Gatta Yellow Honey

74158 is an Ethiopian heirloom selection developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre, one of several numbered varieties bred for both quality and disease resistance. It's native to Ethiopia, the birthplace of Arabica, which means it carries centuries of genetic diversity that most other coffee-growing regions simply don't have access to. In the right hands and the right environment, it produces cups with remarkable complexity and a flavour clarity that's hard to find elsewhere.

Sidama is one of Ethiopia's most celebrated coffee regions, and Bensa is among its most exciting sub-regions. Tucked into the highlands at over 2,000 metres, the area is defined by its dense natural forests, rich volcanic soils, and a cool, misty climate that slows cherry development and concentrates flavour. Bensa in particular has built a reputation for producing coffees with exceptional clarity and depth, the kind of origin character that needs very little intervention to shine.

After harvesting, red cherries are floated to remove defects, then pulped with a measured amount of fruit mucilage left intentionally on the bean before being transferred to raised beds for drying. That remaining mucilage is what gives this process its name and its character. The result is a coffee with more natural sweetness and body than a fully washed lot, and a flavour complexity that reflects both the fruit and the bean beneath it.

Gatta Farm is deeply connected to the community around it. Nearly 1,000 local farmers from Shantawene Village contribute to each harvest, and employment at the farm and drying station provides meaningful, fairly waged work in the region. Women play a central role, assigned primarily to quality control and processing, where precision and attention to detail directly shape what ends up in the cup. It's a model that treats the people behind the coffee as integral to its quality, not incidental to it.