Let’s reminisce about that first cup of specialty coffee that sparked our passion, celebrate how far we’ve come, and look forward to what lies ahead — while savoring long sips of Ethiopia Benti Nenka Guji Hambela and Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti as reimagined by our new producing partner @edncoffeeexporter.

Replenishing our Ethiopia single-origin selection with these two new releases inevitably takes us back to our own beginnings as a roastery and green coffee trader.

That’s because coffees from Yirgacheffe and Guji Hambela were some of our earliest offerings, since they were among the country's earliest coffee-growing districts that gained world renown for unparalleled quality and unprecedented cup profiles. 

Being unforgettably honey-toned, floral-laden, and fruit-forward — whether citrusy, stonefruit sweet, berry-rich, or in combination — yet balanced, their notes have come to form the cornerstone of what countless specialty coffee lovers have indexed in their sensory memories as the ideal of what specialty coffee tastes like and should perhaps keep aspiring to.

It would also be no surprise if our long-time friends’ passion for specialty coffee was first sparked by a cup of Yirgacheffe or Hambela.

As natural anaerobics, the flavor profiles of our Benti Nenka Guji Hambela and Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti micro-lots were directed toward the fragrant, sticky sweetness of tropical fruits balanced by pleasantly toned-down acidities.

These coffees simultaneously express reinvention and nostalgia, and reassure us that it is possible to stay true to our roots while striving to reach new heights and cross new frontiers.

After years of studying and working in the UK and the US, 2018 saw Michael Tseyahe co-found EDN Ethiopia Coffee, a coffee-producing and exporting company with five processing sites, also known as washing stations, in Ethiopia. They started the company with a noble sense of responsibility to contribute to nation-building by directly participating in advancing the country’s agricultural agenda, being its predominant source of both national income and pride. 

In so doing, EDN is among the enablers of bettering coffee-growing families’ welfare while helping introduce improvements and innovations to traditional know-how, thereby supporting efforts to perpetuate the country’s intangible heritage in coffee.  

Quality-focused and customer-oriented, the company has invested in nurturing its ties with peer producers and the smallholder farmers within their scope, skill-building within their teams, as well as building out the appropriate infrastructure to meet the requirements of its global customers. As such, they have been gaining renown for their professionalism and reliability as a provider of higher-end specialty coffees in small and difficult-to-acquire batches amid an increasingly challenging milieu.