Ethiopia - Fikru Tadese

Tasting notes: Floral aroma, sweet candied redcurrant, black tea, orange with a caramel finish

This coffee comes from a project called Tracon – run by green coffee supplier Olam. This group works with single farmer lots – something which is really rare in Ethiopia. The farm owner is called Fikru Tadese, a 25 year old woman with three children. This is a really special short-run coffee, and it is awesome to be buying greens from a single farm, rather than a cooperative.

“Ethiopian coffee has a reputation and heritage which precedes itself, but the vast majority of coffees in Ethiopia - even microlots - are not fully traceable to farmer level, simply due to the number of smallholders involved in coffee production. In 2018, we worked with one exporter on a brand new project: single farmer separations for Ethiopian smallholder coffees

After a positive reception to the Farmer Direct Trade (FDT) program, we were pleased to grow volumes last season and support more direct relationships with Ethiopian smallholders. Working with 17 different producers in villages around Yirgacheffe and Gedeb, we have access to previously untapped levels of traceability: precise data on the farmer’s location and elevation, the local names for the varietals used, the exact price they received for their cherries, and even how many children they support with their coffee income.”