Addisu's coffee journey began fourteen years ago as a coffee grower on his 17-hectare farm (this is quite large for a smallholder in Ethiopia) at the whopping altitude of 2,180 meters. Up until 2022, he would sell his red cherry to the Halo Beriti Cooperative, and it would get blended into obscurity with the rest of the area's producers.

But Addisu's coffee is special, and it deserves to be enjoyed for its distinct qualities. Thanks to the work of my good friend Abenezer of Origin Land, this has become a reality. Addisu now exports the coffee from his farm and his neighbour’s farm from his local village of Udeye directly via Origin Land for us to enjoy! He's now buying from 452 outgrowers (i.e. a lot of neighbours), so it remains to be seen whether this level of quality continues in the future, but I'm hopeful!

I cupped all of Addisu's coffee from his season, and this Lot #2 was the best of his offerings. In fact, it was my favourite washed Ethiopian coffee of the season!

I was delighted to return to Ethiopia in January 2023 after three years away. It was perhaps my most memorable trip, as I had missed all of my friends and colleagues. I was also greatly concerned about their well-being.

Ethiopia faced Covid, like everyone else, but on top of that, there was a civil war in the north of the country. It was truly awe-inspiring to see how everyone I ran into in Ethiopia had handled both, adapting to these challenges and focusing on progressing quality and building their businesses. The reality is that volatility is the baseline of normal in Ethiopia, and perhaps this equips them better than the rest of us to handle it!

This green coffee was frozen immediately upon arrival.

- Phil