Mystic Melon

Chilaka sits in Alo village in Bensa, Sidama, above 2350 metres. It is one of two stations Alo Coffee runs in that village, and it is the one they use to push processing. Alo describes Chilaka as a hub of excellence, and they run naturals, anaerobic naturals, honeys and their experimental lots there. Every cherry comes from smallholder farms around the station.

Alo Coffee is Tamiru Tadesse and his wife, Messi. Tamiru grew up in Alo village, so this is home ground for him. He was an electrical engineer and a university teacher before coffee, and he spent years watching Bensa coffee get undervalued. Ethiopia’s first Cup of Excellence in 2020 convinced him to start his own company. Their very first submission, a lot from their home village, won first place in 2021. They have not slowed down since.

I spent a lot of time with the Alo team on my trip to Ethiopia this past season. I practically lived in their cupping lab, working through table after table of their coffees. Tamiru is the real deal. He cares deeply about quality. He is not a businessman in coffee, he is a coffee guy in business, and you can taste that difference in everything they produce.

Now let’s talk about the coffee. Anaerobic means without oxygen. Ripe cherry is hand picked and sorted, then goes into barrels whole. The lids are sealed with a one way valve, which lets the fermentation gas escape but does not let oxygen back in. The cherry sits like that for 48 hours. Then the barrels are emptied onto raised beds and the whole cherry is spread in a thin layer to dry slowly in the sun.

That sealed stage is where the tropical fruit comes from. Forty eight hours is short as these things go, so the fruit stays in check and the coffee stays clean. You still taste Bensa underneath. It is fun, tropical and sweet, which is exactly what Mystic Melon is for. We hope you love it as much as we do!