Story
Sookoo Coffee is perhaps the most foundational relationship of Osito's in Ethiopia, which, generally, is one of their greatest countries of focus. They have been working with Sookoo's founder, Ture Waji, since their earliest days of sourcing in Ethiopia. Ture and his brother, Assefa, founded the company (legally, Dambi Uddo Agro Industry) in late 2018/early 2019. In that same harvest, Osito delivered to Dambi Uddo their very first registered purchase contract.
Sookoo Coffee is located in Odo Shakiso within the Oromia Region and Guji Zone. At present, Ture and Assefa are only producing naturally-processed coffees with cherry sourced from the surrounding kebeles. Each lot is named for the kebele from which the cherry comes (e.g. Shoondhisa or Bookkisa).
Processing
Most of the cherries being delivered are one of two varieties; Gibirinna 74110 and Serto 74112. Both of these are from the Metu Bishari selections made in the forest of the same name in the Illubabor Zone by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC) in 1974. They were selected for their resistance to Coffee Berry Disease (CBD). Now, they are some of the most propagated varieties in Ethiopia.
The cherries are all dried at a centralised location on raised beds at an elevation of 2100 masl for around 15-20 days in very thin layers. They are moved and rotated frequently to ensure even and precise drying. The net results of all the effort are some of the most vibrant and pristinely clean coffees. Unlike many naturals, they present with high florality and acid with very little booziness. They are often described as "Ethiopia comes first, natural processing second."