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Bensa Logita
We have purchased coffees from the Sidamo Logita mill since its first year of production, after Moplaco purchased the mill in 2017. Located at 2100 masl, and named for its water source, the Logita River, it is attached to a small one hectare plot owned by Moplaco, allowing them to grow, process and export their own coffee, almost unheard of in Ethiopia.
This coffee is a washed process coffee, composed of cherries gathered in Kokose, a village close by the mill in the far north-east of Sidamo. Kokose is located on the edge of the Harenna forest, one of very few areas where coffee still grows completely wild. The forest is dense and humid, providing thick shade for the plants, and a vibrant ecosystem in which to grow, ideal conditions for producing the highest quality. This area is also of slightly higher altitude than most of western Sidamo, with some growing lands reaching up to 2300 m. This lot has been produced using a careful washed process, and dried on raised beds.
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The Sidamo region produces coffees with a soft profile and heavy mouthfeel, showcased in the syrupy tinned peach character of this lot.
Moplaco
Moplaco was founded in 1972, by Yannis Georgalis. They established themselves in the town of Dire Dawa, to the north east of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Crucially, Dire Dawa is located on the edge of the iconic Ethiopian region of Harrar, and is home to the region’s largest ECX coffee delivery centre. Harrar produces a markedly different expression of Ethiopian coffee when compared to the regions further south surrounding the Great Rift Valley.
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Yannis’ daughter Heleanna took over Moplaco 12 years ago, leading the company’s expansion into the south, and focussing on speciality coffee. The company invested in their facility in Addis Ababa, actually downsizing from their commercial days, allowing them to mill coffees from all over Ethiopia while maintaining traceability. The previous second warehouse has been converted into a shared creative space, where artisans work with textiles, ceramics and more, alongside a small coffee shop. The Georgalis family take their responsibility to the community seriously, giving back to the area of Addis they have called home for so long.
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Moplaco own processing stations in some of the most well known regions of Ethiopia; Yirgacheffe, Guji, Sidamo, where processing is carried out and agronomic advice is given to the smallholder farmers who deliver cherry. In recent years, Moplaco purchased the Logita processing station near the town of Bensa, in the North-East of the famous Sidamo region, and took over a farm in the far west of the country, near Sheka. Moplaco also work with neighbouring mills, assisting them with finance and quality work in order to secure a consistent supply of excellent coffee.
We are proud to be involved with Heleanna’s work, an inspirational woman blazing a trail for a new level of speciality coffee in Ethiopia.
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