We drink a lot of coffee daily from our neighboring cafes or even at home from our favorite roasters. But have you ever wondered how those coffees came to be? Why are they so good? Who processed those coffees and to whom did it came from? We created Producer's Talk to have a platform for people to meet, talk and even cup coffees from our producing partners themselves. It is a time to interact with the people working behind the coffee that we enjoy.
We had our first Producer's Talk last July 24, 2022 in Archers Coffee, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates and our first Producer to be featured was none other than Tamiru Tadesse of Alo Coffee. He is the 2021 Ethiopia Cup of Excellence Winner, and we are bringing his coffees for the first time in the UAE. Tamiru Tadesse is a coffee supplier who has been in the coffee business for the last eight years. He works with about 200 farmers in Delo Kebele, Bensa zone of the Sidama region, and collects about 182,000 kilograms of red cherry from an estimated 80 hectares of land owned by the farmers. Tamiru processes anaerobic and natural coffee which are dried on raised beds with mesh wires. The coffee is sold on the international market, particularly China. However, his interest grew in reaching new market destinations to promote the unique flavors of Bensa coffee. “We participated in the CoE to promote the coffee our farmers grow, establish better market linkage, and improve the farmers’ income.”
It was quite an enjoyable time. A 2 hour segment wherein we were able to talk, meet, cup and even ask questions from the producer himself. More importantly, we were able to connect the consumers and even the front liners such as the baristas, roasters, and cafe owners to the people working behind the scenes, the coffee producers.
The Coffee
We introduced two coffees on the same day, an Ethiopia, Alo Village and an exclusive Alo Village Archers Lot. These are two distinct coffees which are processed differently, giving them different characters. Alo Village is a Cascara-Infused, Natural, Anaerobic processed coffee which gives it a blueberry jam, banana, mango, IPA, cream caramel finish. Alo Village Archers Lot, on the otherhand, is a Natural, Anaerobic processed coffee with rose, lychee, peach cobbler, strawberry, candy like sweetness notes.
The Variety
The variety of these coffee is what we call 74158. It was named by Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC), and introduced to Ethiopia in 1971 as an initiative, to test and select coffee trees that have good disease resistance for farmers to grow. The number signifies: 74 (years that the coffee seeds were collected) and 158 (varietal number).
About Alo Village
Alo Coffee Export PLC is a specialty Coffee exporter from Ethiopia which focuses on supplying top quality micro lots of Natural, Anaerobic Natural and Honey Processed Coffee to the world market. Established in 2020, the organization has managed to cultivate a commendable reputation in the world market for the quality of the coffee produced in a fairly short amount of time. With growing clients in China, Japan, Europe, South Korea and now the Middle East, Alo Coffee is committed to provide quality coffee from Ethiopia to the world with excellent customer service.
Winner of multiple awards including the Ethiopia Cup of Excellence in 2021, the organization exports premium specialty coffee from its origin to the world. Their mission to producing high quality Ethiopian coffee, in addition to their dedication to quality control and commitment to service distinguishes Alo Coffee from everyone. They strive to connect clients to the origins of the coffee beans they purchase, thus creating an experience and a lasting relationship that goes beyond the cup. Hand in hand with thousands of coffee producing farmers, they work relentlessly to empower the producers to help them produce traceable high quality coffee.
Archers Producer’s Talk
What makes specialty coffee different is not just the cup that we drink itself. It is the whole community behind it from the farmers, up to the consumers. All of us play an important role in making the whole specialty coffee scene special and we hope that through this Producer's Talk, we can bridge the gap between the producers and our consumers.
Until next time, friends! See you on the next Producer's talk!
Written by: Nadine Onate | Photos by: Fred Bejo, David Disuanco, Pauline Disuanco, Alo Coffee
Comments
It was unforgettable day for me, new experience. Visiting Archers Coffee will change everyone’s perspective on coffee, Specially Frederick Bejo has huge influence on my coffee journey from winning COE winning to becoming one of high end coffee exporter, Kudos to you brother 🙏🙏🙏
What a great initiative! Producer’s Talk is the right step forward for the industry and definitely talk-of-the-town when it comes to showcase the producers in the limelight.
I wish I was there for this one, already looking forward to the next one!