{"id":59590,"date":"2025-06-26T09:15:01","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/blog\/?p=59590"},"modified":"2025-06-26T09:46:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:46:22","slug":"the-odakko-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/australia\/blog\/2025\/06\/26\/the-odakko-project\/","title":{"rendered":"The Odakko Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding=”10px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-40px|auto|-20px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”1px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_heading title=”Cafe Imports and Testi Coffee bring a single-variety lot to all three offices. ” disabled_on=”on|on|on” admin_label=”Heading” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_level=”h2″ title_font=”Raleway|700|||||||” custom_margin=”||20px||false|false” disabled=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_heading][et_pb_text quote_border_weight=”0px” admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” quote_font=”Raleway|500|||||||” quote_font_size=”15px” header_2_font=”Raleway|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”28px” header_3_font=”Raleway|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

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Ethiopia is one of the most intriguing places to develop a new offering. By design, microlots, or even small, focused lots, are uncommon. Ethiopian regions and varieties are among the oldest and most diverse in coffee, so every opportunity to isolate a specially prepared lot feels like a gift. In partnership with our friends at Testi Coffee, we offer the Odakko Project, a single-variety, naturally processed coffee from the Yaye Washing Station in Sidama.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Cafe_Imports_Odakko_Project-1.jpg” title_text=”Cafe_Imports_Odakko_Project-1″ align=”center” admin_label=”Banner Image” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text quote_border_weight=”0px” admin_label=”What is Odakko” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” quote_font=”Raleway|500|||||||” quote_font_size=”15px” header_2_font=”Raleway|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”28px” header_3_font=”Raleway|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

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What is \u201cOdakko\u201d?<\/h3>\n

The Yaye <\/span>Washing Station, established in 2021, focuses on quality through experimentation. The Odakko project is the culmination of their four years of study and pre-harvest planning between Testi Coffee<\/span><\/a> and Cafe Imports. The goal was to develop a traceable, single-variety coffee using the most carefully selected cherry at peak harvest to discover a one-of-one flavor profile. This outstanding coffee is the product of 50 smallholders from neighboring villages of Yaye and Chericho.
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In this small Sidama area, coffee is frequently grown beneath the large \u201cOdakko,\u201d Ethiopia\u2019s native fig tree, Ficus Vasta. These trees live for hundreds of years, providing shade from a canopy that stretches 50 meters (160 feet). The fig fruit is an attractive food source for many species, playing a crucial role in supporting biodiversity. Culturally, the Odakko has served as a gathering place for daily activities, including prayer, schooling, markets, and courts. On today\u2019s farms, the large fig leaves filter the sunlight that reaches the coffee trees below.<\/p>\n

The Odakko Project was named after the tree because, without it, the maturation of the cherries and their flavor expression would be different. The fig tree may be abundant because the Arbegona district is flanked by two protected areas (Bore-Anferara and Harena-Kokosa), preventing the deforestation that pervades swaths of Ethiopia. Testi Coffee, in collaboration with the local Ministry of Agriculture, is distributing Ficus Vasta seeds to farmers, encouraging them to strategically plant them on their farms.<\/p>\n

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Ficus Vasta, Warka Water, 2012<\/em>
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[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/offerings?origin=Ethiopia&location=*&tab=&keyword=Odakko&archive=undefined” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”View The Odakko Project Coffee” button_alignment=”center” admin_label=”View offerings button” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”16px” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_bg_color=”#1074aa” button_border_width=”2px” button_border_color=”#1074aa” button_border_radius=”50px” button_letter_spacing=”1px” button_font=”Raleway|700|||||||” button_use_icon=”off” custom_margin=”||46px|||” custom_padding=”10px|30px|10px|30px|true|true” global_colors_info=”{}” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” button_bg_color__hover=”#1187c6″ button_bg_enable_color__hover=”on”][\/et_pb_button][et_pb_text quote_border_weight=”0px” admin_label=”Yaye Washing Station” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” quote_font=”Raleway|500|||||||” quote_font_size=”15px” header_2_font=”Raleway|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”28px” header_3_font=”Raleway|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

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Yaye Washing Station<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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Being new, Yaye Washing Station is equipped with immaculate washing facilities, hundreds of raised beds, and numerous fermentation barrels, all ready to process coffee from the hundreds of growers in the surrounding villages. Attention to detail has put Yaye on the specialty coffee map. Along with its focus on quality, Testi Coffee is also committed to serving the coffee-growing communities surrounding their washing stations throughout the country. Testi emphasizes education, building schools, and providing school supplies to the youth. The Odakko Project premium goes toward this social program.
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Testi Coffee operates over 20 washing stations, many of which we\u2019ve purchased coffee from, but never before the Yaye Washing Station. The more we learned about the station, the more Yaye emerged as the clear choice for this kind of project.<\/p>\n

Many farms are geographically close to the washing station, a rare situation allowing staff agronomists and microbiologists to visit consistently. Frequent communication compounds the amount that farmers and staffers can learn from one another. In comparison to the rest of Ethiopia\u2019s coffee-growing regions, Sidama farmers have received notable attention in recent agronomic training and the construction of new washing stations, such as Yaye.<\/p>\n

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The Coffee<\/h3>\n

Testi estimates that 40% of green defects are caused by contaminants or exposure to harmful fungi during processing, so cleanliness is prioritized at every step. All Yaye staff wash their hands and all equipment, including floater tanks, picking baskets, drying beds, and shade nets, before coffee passes through. The coffee cherries themselves are washed with potable water, rather than river water. Clean processing creates a clean cup.<\/p>\n

The Odakko Project cherry was collected from producers at elevations ranging from 2150 to 2300 MASL within a 10-km radius of the washing station, who were all identified as growing the 74518 variety. To manage the processing logistics, the coffee was harvested over a four-day period. Each day\u2019s yield was collected between 3:00 and 7:00 PM to prevent uncontrolled fermentation. The cherries were immediately transported to Yaye and immersed in water, where any floaters were removed. The cleaned cherries were then poured onto the drying beds, 300 kilos per bed, and sorted by hand to a strict tolerance of 95% full-ripe and 5% overripe to balance sugar content and complexity.<\/p>\n

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After sorting, the raised beds were covered with a shade net to slow down the drying process. In fact, the drying beds used are situated in an area of greater wind circulation and less direct sunlight compared to the rest of the station\u2019s drying beds. This extends the drying time to 28 days, carefully reducing the seed\u2019s moisture content to an optimal 12%, maximizing flavor development, transformation, and preservation. Following the 28 days, the dried cherries are removed from the raised beds and rested for six weeks before being delivered in air-tight GrainPro bags to Testi\u2019s mill in Addis Ababa. Every step is deliberate, resulting in cups with notes of jammy red fruit balanced by dark chocolate, red wine acidity, and mild sugary sweetness.<\/p>\n

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The Odakko tree stands for hundreds of years, selflessly providing for its environment. It breathes oxygen into the atmosphere, binds the soil, and provides food and shelter to animals of every size and intellect. It has been a community center for Sidama people who, in turn, have protected it for generations. It represents the interconnectedness between the land and people, and in Yaye and Chericho, coffee is a benefactor. We couldn\u2019t be more thrilled to offer the Odakko Project coffee to our customers across the world. It will be arriving in the US, Europe, and Australia soon.
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Cafe Imports and Testi Coffee bring a single-variety lot to all three offices. Learn more about the story behind the coffee here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":388,"featured_media":59595,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[428],"tags":[224,503,497,504],"class_list":["post-59590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ethiopia","tag-odakko-project","tag-sidama","tag-testi-coffee"],"site_id":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/australia\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/australia\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/australia\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/australia\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/388"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/australia\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59590"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/australia\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59633,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/australia\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59590\/revisions\/59633"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/australia\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/australia\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/australia\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafeimports.com\/australia\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}