Buku Hambela is produced by smallholder farmers in the Buku region of Hambela, within Ethiopia’s Guji zone, and processed at the Buku washing station operated by Esayas Bareso. Sitting at elevations reaching over 2300 metres above sea level, the area is known for producing some of the most intensely aromatic and refined coffees in Ethiopia.
The landscape around Buku is rugged and elevated, with cool nights and slow cherry maturation contributing to dense seed structure and concentrated sweetness in the cup. Coffee growing here remains deeply traditional and highly labour intensive, with cherries selectively handpicked by surrounding smallholders before being delivered to the station for processing.
At the washing station, cherries are carefully sorted and dried slowly on raised beds under close supervision, allowing the fruit character and florality typical of Guji coffees to develop with clarity and precision. Over the years, Buku Hambela has become one of the coffees we consistently return to, and this marks our third release from the station, a coffee we continue to admire for its balance of sweetness, vibrancy and transparency in the cup.
