Ethiopia
This month’s coffees were produced by the team at Elto Coffee. Elto is run by Atiklit Dejene and Eliyas Dukamo, both with experience at the highest level of Ethiopian coffee. Atiklit studied agriculture before working as processing manager for Gesha Village for several years. She then moved on to managing processing at Daye Bensa, where she also managed the quality lab. Eliyas comes from a business background, having grown up in Bensa, been part of founding Daye Bensa, and working as operations manager there for many years. A formidable skillset, they founded Elto in 2022, naming the company with the Sidama word for ‘abundant passion’. They live up to this moniker in every sense.
During our visit this year, we witnessed Atiklit and Eliyas’ genuine passion for coffee and for quality, as well as for the coffee industry and the needs of each single client. Known for their bespoke processing and nano-lots, Elto are aiming for a new level of Ethiopian quality. We are excited to follow along in their journey, and hold our communications with them open.
Ana Sora
This specific lot was produced at Elto’s Ana Sora station, in the first harvest since they took over ownership last year. Harvest this year was early and bountiful, with a great rush of cherries arriving early in the season, from November to December of 2024. This allowed a great deal of experimentation and pressure testing Elto’s systems at the new station, resulting in a myriad of high end lots. The potential for quality here is high, with a location in the some of the best known areas of Guji, close to the coffee centre of Adola, at altitudes which stretch above 2300 masl.
Elto’s exacting level of quality control throughout the process, from selection and drying, to storage and milling, mean that this natural lot from Ana Sora has a clean profile of stone fruit, underpinning complex citrus aromatics.
Mofa
This lot was produced at Elto’s Mofa station, their first and most established station. The location here is both beautiful and, by Ethiopian standards, accessible, lying close to the local centre of Hawasa, where many journeys into the Ethiopian coffee lands begin. The potential for quality here is exceptionally high, with lush vegetation and altitudes which stretch above 2400 masl.
For this lot from the Mofa station, cherries were fermented in closed tanks for 48 hrs before drying, leading to a complex ripe fruit character underpinning aromatic top notes of perfumed flowers, violet and orange blossom.
It’s a privilege to travel in Ethiopia. Each trip is an attempt to understand the ever-changing facets of Ethiopia’s coffee chain, but also to uncover the history, culture and people that have formed the complexity and beauty of modern Ethiopia. We’re excited to present these two examples of Ethiopian coffees this month, and hope you enjoy both.
