SHANTAWENE NATURAL, ETHIOPIA - OMNI ROAST

Omni roast = this coffee works both as filter coffee and as a lighter-style espresso.

Shantawene is a natural-processed coffee from Ethiopia, from the Sidama region and the village of Shantawene in Bensa. This coffee has intensity, fruit-candy sweetness, and violet florals. The mouthfeel is soft and jammy, with honey-like sweetness. In the cup you’ll find ripe red fruit and blackcurrant jam, and the finish turns tea-like with a brown-sugar tone.

The coffee comes from Tariku Kare Exporters, whom we visited in spring 2025. Tariku Kare has an impressive history in coffee. He started out as a coffee picker and gradually worked his way up, building a reputation as a quality-focused operator. Today he runs washing stations in both Sidamo and West Arsi. He holds a degree in agronomy and is known for clean, high-quality coffees produced through the washing stations he operates.

Conditions in the area are ideal for specialty coffee. Local coffee farms sit at high elevations, around 1,900–2,150 meters above sea level, which supports the production of Grade 1 (G1) coffees. This coffee is G1. Harvest runs from October to January, and cherries are selectively handpicked so only ripe fruit is collected. The varietal is Ethiopian mixed heirloom, grown in fertile, red-brown, well-drained soil.

The washing stations process coffee delivered by local smallholders. In Ethiopia, farmers rarely own their own washing station, nor do they usually produce enough coffee to justify having one. Around 800 smallholders deliver coffee to the Shantawene station under contract. The station buys the cherries, processes the coffee, and sends it on to a dry mill, from where it is exported to the rest of the world. Tariku pays farmers when they deliver their coffee, and then makes a second payment at the end of the harvest once the coffee’s quality has been verified and it has achieved a good price. The goal is to ensure better compensation for the farmers’ work and to strengthen long-term collaboration with the station. There are hundreds of washing stations across Ethiopia, so stations also compete for where farmers choose to deliver their cherries.

Tariku also invests in his community and social responsibility. The operation creates jobs for local people, especially women, employing around 20 permanent staff and hundreds of seasonal workers during harvest. Tariku says a portion of earnings is donated to charity by supporting children from low-income families with school supplies and offering financial help to families. In addition, they provide on-farm training to help farmers improve quality and encourage the production of specialty coffee, and they have also created a platform to help local growers retail their products at the national level.