personal coffee passport
Your coffee farms: Ethiopia Galeh
FARMS: Limmu Kossa Family Estate
LOCATION: Jimma, Ethiopia
CULTIVARS: Local varieties selected on productivity, strength and micro-region fit, called: 74165, 75227, 74140, 74110, 74112 and 5227. Limu Kossa is located in the highlands where the coffea arabica species evolved
EXPORTER: Own export license
IMPORTER: This Side Up Coffees
ROASTER: Special Roast
About the farmers
Limu Kossa was founded by Giday Berhe. He started his coffee career as a trader in 1993 in Jimma. He then opened a wet and dry mill station with the aim to supply the central coffee market with quality coffee. In the early 2000s, he decided to establish his own farm in the village of Galeh in Jimma and from the outset establish meaningful relationships with neighbouring smallholder producers. Not only does he spend much of his profit on health care and schooling for the community, he actively teaches the farmers to upgrade their farms and techniques to eventually be able to process and export their coffee for high premiums as well. His commitment to produce quality coffee while at the same time supporting his local community has even granted him the title of "Abba Ollie" or “he who uplifts”.
Galeh - coffee specs
what to taste for
Aroma: very berry like, with hints of chocolate.
Body: round mouthfeel, caramel.
Acidity: round but with a hint of red currant.
Aftertaste: blueberries, dark chocolate.
PROCESSING your coffee
Cherries are hand picked by seasonal pickers on the estate. On delivery, all cherries are pre-screened by controllers, after which lots are separated into the washed lots (early and mid season) and naturals (late season). The coffee you have is a natural: fully ripe cherries are spread evenly on raised beds and turned every hour to prevent moulding, especially in the first few days. Sun dried for at least 12 days.
ROASTING YOUR COFFEE
Special Roast uses a 22kg Probat UG22 roaster, that has been built in 1965. The roast time is 10 minutes. After the first crack, the coffee is roasted for a remainder of 25% of the time.
Relative PRICE BREAKDOWN
51%
Cost of farming and harvesting and drying, done internally at Limmu Kossa by their hired personnel.
27%
Milling in Limmu Kossa's own facility + company expense coverage, personnel training costs included.
8%
Internal transport up to Djibouti and total shipping costs to Europe plus customs.
5%
Average financing cost we have to pay social lenders and banks - simply because we don’t have the money in the bank to buy such large amounts of coffee all at once. This ensures immediate payment to Limmu Kosa when the coffee leaves the port.
9%
This Side Up compensation for spending time and resources importing this coffee. Work includes financing, warehousing, managing export, import and shipping bureaucracy, Q grading, sampling and promoting this coffee.
The best of both worlds: Limu Kossa in Galeh
Limu Kossa was founded by Giday Berhe. He started his coffee career as a trader in 1993 in Jimma. He then opened a wet and dry mill station with the aim to supply the central coffee market with quality coffee. In the early 2000s, he decided to establish his own farm in the village of Galeh in Jimma and from the outset establish meaningful relationships with neighbouring smallholder producers. Not only does he spend much of his profit on health care and schooling for the community, he actively teaches the farmers to upgrade their farms and techniques to eventually be able to process and export their coffee for high premiums as well.
Here was the hybrid we were looking for, a private estate with the heart of a producer cooperative. His commitment to produce quality coffee while at the same time supporting his local community has even granted him the title of "Abba Ollie" or “he who uplifts”. It then dawned on us that we had heard similar titles for some of our other parters: Limu Kossa in fact resembles the structures we’re developing in Colombia and Nicaragua. All are private and well-organised support, milling and export entities that exist to uplift the lives of smallholder farmers.
In the end, to cut a very long story short, it turned out we did not have to sacrifice any of our ideals by working with Limu Kossa - and better still, are simply continuing a development path that we have been on in other countries for several years. More exciting still, we have the chance to link the fates of all these local "Abba Ollies" by encouraging exchange between them...