How exciting is dry milling? Not very. How important is dry milling? Crucial. Dry milling is one of the final steps in the value chain at origin, and is essential for creating and maintaining the quality of Ethiopia’s best coffees. After passing through Read more…
The outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted international shipping, which is a crucial element of the coffee trade. While no one can yet predict the full impact this virus will have, there are several things we know right now. Ethiopia containment Read more…
The Ethiopian government has issued a directive to set minimum prices of coffee. This has resulted in a significant surge in coffee prices and rattled the industry. Coffee prices in the same period last year ranged from $2.40 to $4.00 Read more…
Hambela is the new Yirgacheffe! So says Satta in part 1 of this blog series, about how Ethiopian coffee profiles are changing. Read it here. In this post we look at what actually impacts the flavour profile of the cup. Read more…
It has been three years since the supply chain in Ethiopia was opened and traceability restored. The ECX system of categorising coffees by regional cup profiles still dominates, but we have long felt this system was not up to the Read more…
The classic Antioquia profile is changing. The heavy-bodied chocolatey coffees the region was famous for are making way for new fruity and bright profiles as savvy producers seek the specialty market. The relatively large size of the farms in this Read more…
Like all relationships, our partnerships at origin require time and energy. Each party has to contribute to the relationship for it to work, our partners expect as much from us as we do from them. And like all relationships, they Read more…
I was packing in Dublin, trying to squash my life into two suitcases to move to Addis Ababa, when a friend asked why I would spend a small fortune on a Comandante coffee grinder. I explained that I would be Read more…
Residents of Sidama go to the polls today to vote whether the sub-region should become an autonomous region. Local authorities have stepped up security around Hawassa for the referendum, and tensions are high. If the outcome is affirmative, Hawassa could Read more…
A couple of weeks ago the team and I headed to the south to spend a week visiting different suppliers we work with as well as new potentials. The first stop of the season was with Kanketi, a family run Read more…