Esayas Beriso

Esayas Beriso is a central figure in the specialty coffee landscape of the Guji zone, specifically within the Hambela Wamena district. Operating at an extreme elevation of approximately 2,350 meters above sea level, his work is synonymous with the 'Boku' or 'Buku Sayisa' coffee lots. His transition into the coffee industry began after a career as a government clerk in Dimtu, a position he eventually left in 2009 to dedicate himself fully to coffee cultivation and processing.

Unlike the large-scale estate models often found in Latin America, Beriso’s operation functions as a hybrid model. He cultivates his own coffee trees while simultaneously operating a washing station that purchases cherries from neighboring smallholder farmers. This approach allows him to maintain rigorous control over the post-harvest processing of his own crop and the surrounding community's harvest, ensuring that only high-quality, dense cherries are selected for export.

Beriso’s processing methods are highly technical and focused on quality. For his washed lots, cherries are hand-sorted for ripeness before being de-pulped and subjected to a wet fermentation process that can last up to 72 hours. Following fermentation, the coffee is washed in channels to grade by density, with lower-density seeds removed. The beans undergo a two-hour soak before being dried in thin, two-centimeter layers for approximately ten days, followed by a final hand-sorting process.

He is particularly noted for his focus on the JARC 74158 variety, a selection developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center that is prized for its cup quality. The combination of this specific variety, the high-altitude terroir of the Guji Highlands, and Beriso’s meticulous processing results in coffees frequently described by roasters as having notes of peach tea, nectarine, and raspberry.

Family involvement is a cornerstone of the operation, with his wife, Meskerem, playing a vital role in managing harvest logistics and overseeing the procurement of cherries from local farmers. Since 2017, Beriso has collaborated with the exporting company SNAP, which has helped facilitate the international reach of his coffee, bringing his specific lots to specialty roasters globally.

For the roaster and the drinker, the Esayas Beriso tag represents a commitment to traceability and the specific, high-elevation character of Guji coffee. His work serves as a practical example of how individual producers in Ethiopia bridge the gap between smallholder farming and the global specialty market, emphasizing that the quality of the final cup is as much a product of the producer's processing expertise as it is the land itself.