KNIFE Coffee | Shantawane - Ethiopia

KNIFE Coffee — Cut Through the Ordinary.

Meet KNIFE Coffee, our first signature coffees — crafted in collaboration with Townsfolk Coffee from Kanazawa Japan. We’ve teamed up to bring you small-batch coffee that’s as intentional and precise as the knives we stand behind.

Each lot is sourced from dedicated farmers and producers, then roasted by Shichiniro of Townsfolk to highlight clean sweetness, layered clarity, and a finish that lingers — never bitter, always honest.

It’s coffee for early mornings in the kitchen, slow afternoons at home, or that quiet moment before service starts. Nothing too fancy — just good beans, good roasting, and good people behind it.

Sharp, balanced, and true — just like a good knife.

KNIFE Coffee. Sharp, balanced, and true — just like a good knife.

Shantawane

It has a bright sweetness reminiscent of Muscat and a black tea flavor. It is a smooth and pleasant coffee with a long finish. It also has the acidity that is unique to the Sidama area.

This is one of the lots we purchased from the many samples available during our visit in January of this year.

Shantawane Washing Station is a production and processing facility directly operated by local exporter Tracon since 2022. It is located in Sidama, the most popular area in Ethiopia right now.

The terroir of this area is outstanding, and in recent years Many of the products from this area have won prizes at international competitions held in Ethiopia.

The lots are produced from cherries collected from approximately 1,000 small-scale coffee farmers in the surrounding area, many of which are located at very high altitudes of over 1,950 meters above sea level.

They cultivate selected varieties by JARC (Jima Agricultural Research Center) and native species on their own farm.

In addition to the traditional Washed and Natural varieties, Shantawane WS also carries out a variety of selection processes, such as Honey and Anaerobic, and despite boasting an average production volume of 6.5 containers (approximately 117 tons), the company is actively working to improve quality.

During our purchasing visit, they spoke enthusiastically about their efforts to improve the quality of drying.

Townsfolk coffee - Check them out here.