Coffee Sorters Singing in Ethiopia

Women from the Bele Kara cooperative in the Wenago district of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia sort all this coffee by hand. The coffee has already had the fruit removed by the fermentation, or "washing" process. Now it is set in the sun to dry, with a papery layer of "parchment" surrounding the green coffee beans. As it dries, these women move the coffee around to ensure even drying, and they pick out any defective beans. The lower the percentage of defects, the better the coffee tastes, and the better price they can get for the coffee.

I made this video as part of a month-long trip in Ethiopia working with coffee producers there. This video will become part of a promotion we are doing with this cooperative and others in the region in the first half of 2010.

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• coffee
• ethiopia
• yirgacheffe
• yergacheffe
• sorting
• processing
• parchment
• pergamino
• bele
• kara
• wenago
• women
• singing