The team also buys even more coffee cherry from growers who surround their farm: almost 100 tonnes worth! However, thankfully, they fully separate out their own cherry and this lot is composed of cherry entirely from their own farm.

The duo performs dry processing of some of their coffees directly on the farm, and they borrow the facilities of a SNAP wet mill for their washed process, the method by which this coffee is processed. They plan to build their own wet mill at some point in the future.

I’ve been to the Hambela district many times, but I haven’t been able to visit their farm yet, due to Covid restrictions last season. I’m very much looking forward to visiting in the future though.

This coffee was milled and exported by our export partner, SNAP Coffee. Like us, SNAP hails from a tech background, but now they’re a powerhouse in the speciality coffee sector of Ethiopia. The success of SNAP lies in their union of excellent capitalization and the expertise of a few passionate coffee people. Credit belongs to entrepreneur Negusse Debela for his willingness to invest in washing stations and a dry mill, with the belief that “if you build it, they will come.” On the coffee quality side, much credit belongs to Abenezer Asfaw, the supply chain manager for Snap. Abenezer is only a young man, with much less grey hair than me, but that’s his advantage. He’s full of passionate zeal and boundless energy. He has a keen understanding of quality and the factors affecting it. Undoubtedly, he’s already leaving a major mark on the Ethiopian Speciality Coffee sector.

I’ve loved my trips to Ethiopia over the last decade. Ethiopians are some of the most warm and welcome people I’ve ever met. But the country faces a grave challenge at present. For almost a year, a war has been raging in the northern region of Tigray. I truly hope a peaceful resolution can be reached very soon, as it’s heartbreaking to hear of so much suffering.

This green was frozen immediately upon arrival.

-Phil