How wonderful is it, how coffee puts us on the same road as kindred souls bravely forging pathways to honor their passion —

Like our friends, couple Eliyas Dukamo and Atiklit Dejene, seasoned specialty coffee processing and quality control practitioners, and also founders of the yet, young company Elto Coffee, who are prodigious self-starters in the higher-end specialty coffee-producing scene of Ethiopia’s award-winning coffee-growing zone, Sidama Bensa. 

They named their company “Elto” which, we learned from Atiklit, means “more than passion” and “abundance” in the Sidamic language. Their aspiration is for every Elto coffee to be the most exciting cup a consumer has ever tasted. 

We had the good fortune of meeting them through Daye Bensa Coffee’s second-generation leader, Kenean Dukamo, and now we're just ecstatic that we could obtain a handful of their first-ever production — all 90+ lots — and represent them through five new additions to our collection — three in our Micro-Lot Selection and two tailored Archers Lots in our Competition Series.

Through Elto Coffee, Eliyas and Atiklit aim to honor every facet of coffee by producing outstanding nano-lots, using the highest quality cherries cultivated and harvested by their neighboring smallholder farmers through contemporary updates to traditional processing methods and styles. 

Kindle the beginnings of your own passion projects — and keep the fire burning — as you brew, share, and savor cups of these distinctive coffees with your favorite collaborators. Get your stash at here online or swing by our roastery in Sharjah soon!

Archers Lots culminate our co-founders’ creativity and technical acumen to compose truly artisanal specialty coffee experiences for both the discerning and adventurous specialty coffee connoisseurs, in collaboration with our closest producing partners.

In this Archers-curated 48-hour natural anaerobic process, the perfectly ripe, hand-harvested, and carefully pre-cleaned cherries were re-sorted on raised beds to ensure uniformity of the ripeness level (visually indicated by color) before being placed in 50-60 KG plastic barrels and then sealed with lids having a one-way valve — to aid in maintaining an oxygen-free fermentation phase throughout the pre-determined 48-hour period. 

After this, the barrels were emptied onto the raised beds, as the whole cherries were evenly spread out in very thin layers, allowing the fermentation juices to sufficiently drain off of them. The specific instruction to maintain very thinly layered cherries throughout the sun-drying phase was deliberate, to avoid extraneous microbial activity as the coffees had already undergone the necessary fermentation in the barrels prior. The target moisture level was achieved after 18 to 21 days.  

As a result of this process, this cup expresses a dainty balance of florals, intense and multi-faceted sweetness with a touch of tropicality, with complex acidities from pome, stone, and tropical fruits and berries, as well as an enhanced, creamy mouthfeel.

In the Archers-curated 120-hour Anaerobic Honey process, the perfectly ripe, hand-harvested, and carefully pre-cleaned cherries were re-sorted on raised beds to ensure uniformity of the ripeness level (visually indicated by color) before they were de-pulped (i.e. skin removed) and then sealed in 50-60 KG plastic barrels with lids having a one-way valve. This was done to aid in maintaining an oxygen-free fermentation phase throughout the pre-determined 120-hour period. 

After fermentation, the barrels were emptied onto the raised beds, as the de-pulped cherries were evenly spread out in very thin layers, allowing the fermentation juices to sufficiently drain off of them. The specific instruction to maintain very thinly layered cherries throughout the sun-drying phase was deliberate, to avoid extraneous microbial activity as the coffees had already undergone the necessary fermentation in the barrels prior. The target moisture level was achieved after 14 to 18 days.  

As a result of this process, this cup expresses heightened florality and honeyed sweetness, with a transparent, lively, and refreshing character.