The varietals used to produce this coffee are 74110 and 74112. These two are common in the Kaffa region and are highland varieties typically found in the West and part of the South. Since the coffee is produced by smallholder farmers, additional local and wild-grown varieties are also present within the Kaffa Biosphere Reserve, which is home to a rich diversity of coffee genetics. Coffea arabica is the most common coffee species found in the Kaffa Biosphere Reserve.
Smallholder farmers harvest the cherries and dry them in their gardens. Habtamu collects the coffee in the form of jenfel (dried cherry pods), hulls it to remove the dried pulp, and has it hand-sorted by women. He then transports the coffee to Addis Ababa for further processing.
Habtamu is a long-term partner of BELCO and has been actively involved in various projects, including tree nursery setups, agroforestry initiatives, and quality control training programs.