All orders before Monday at noon, ship out fresh on Wednesdays
TASTING NOTES
Nectarine, Blueberry, Dried Mango
INFO
Country: Ethiopia
Region: Sidama
Farm: Aliye Majo
Processing: Natural
Variety: 74158, 74112
Elevation: 6,300 ft
PURCHASING
Relational trade via Catalyst Trade
STORY:
(A note from our importer)
Aliye Majo is part of the producing group Asnake and his partner Aklilu Admassu has vertically integrated with. Aliye is focused on quality and on advancing the future of traceable, single-producer Ethiopian coffee.
In 2014, we began working with Asnake Bekele. Now, you might recognize Asnake because of his signature modest and welcoming grin. While Asnake’s career in Ethiopian coffee has spanned many high points, we’ve had the privilege of partnering with him on a number of projects which included groundbreaking processing work in Kochere and Gelana Abaya (together we introduced honey processing) as well as on a researched article which directly resulted in over $8 million USD being invested by the Ethiopian government into the Gedeo Zone to repair dozens of washing stations damaged in the 2017 riots. He also helped us organize several producer groups in various parts of Ethiopia as well as serving as an incredibly wise Ethiopian coffee expert and resource to us. When he began his latest endeavor—partnering with outstanding Sidama single producers such as Aliye Majo—we were on board from the first moment, and in fact we have the privilege of being his very first collaborative partner and of building this program with him.
In a recent event co-hosted by Asnake’s company and the Catalyst Trade team, Aliye attended an in-person conference at the Haile Resort on lovely Lake Awassa. It was a day packed with special moments where growers shared their hopes about their future in specialty coffee, and we delved deep into details of advanced processing, financial management, and many other aspects of successful coffee production before enjoying a traditional Ethiopian dinner buffet complete with ingera and the national favorite, Misir Wat, a spicy lentil stew made with secret and closely-guarded family recipes.
COFFEE PROCESSING NOTE:
Asnake shares that during the drying process, coffee cherries are turned up to 6 times per day. It can take 15 – 21 days for specific lots to reach optimum moisture content depending on the sun access and temperature. This is determined by observing brightness of the skin and using your teeth to crack a sample of the dried cherries to assess proper moisture level. When the drying is complete, the cherries are loaded into poly bags and stored in a temporary warehouse, and next, the coffee is transported to the dry mill and warehouse before loading into containers for its voyage to the US.