2/5/24 Update - Keffa Coffees Demonstrate Volatility
Last week Zele visited to pull the took the final round of samples before we moved those lots to Addis Ababa for export processing and shipping. When he checked their parameters, we discovered the unhappy news that without exception, every single lot had risen in moisture content and water activity. This is due to more rain than usual and higher ambient humidity affecting the coffees, most of which were in storehouses and a few of which were finishing on the drying beds. Rain and moisture are constant in Keffa, which contains the Keffa Biosphere Reserve. Try as we might, we still can’t control the weather!
Tough stuff. This late in the harvest, we all know what the coffees being out of spec means: shelf life for those coffees drops along with cup score, even if they can be redried. The coffees will be sold on the local market, even the 3-bag lots of Limited Oxygen, even the single fermentation tank/day lot Coffee Cherry Co-Ferment, and even the Red and Black Honey!
11/28/23 Update - Disappointed Ethiopians & Early Keffa Shipment
In Keffa, we have site samples beginning to flow our way and are excited about their quality potential. Zelalem (Founder of ZEM & Ethio-Catalyst) shared that his heart sank when the very first batch of coffee hit the drying beds and the rain came… but his prayers made a difference because shortly the sun and the blue sky came, and we have had glorious golden warmth to dry out those early lots!
We plan to ship our first containers in late January. It’s an early year especially for Western coffees and we are GOING FOR IT!!! If you’d like fresh, vibrant coffee in your roastery in March-May—now’s the time to tell us!
11/9/23 Update - Birr/kg prices for 2024 harvest
Last year’s frenzy, and the many factors coming with it, continue to cast a long shadow over Ethiopian producers of all types, particularly the smaller ones who have limited financial resources. We are hearing widespread reports that exporters in many cases have STILL not paid the producers for the parchment or dried cherry they bought… sometimes because they themselves are struggling to sell their long inventory and sometimes because they are shitty human beings who build their businesses on other people’s resources.