Ethiopia
Bekele Gemeda

Bekele’s farm is highlighted as a part of the Single Farmer Project, which gives credit to exceptional producers in the Halo Beriti co-operative. His coffee has notes of orange marmalade, peach, and apricot.

Washed process Ethiopian Heirloom

Flavour: orange marmalade, peach, apricot

Body: Acidity:

Roast: omni (filter + espresso)

This single producer lot comes from Mr. Bekele Gemeda in the Worka village in Yirgacheffe.

Mr. Bekele Gemeda is a resident of small village called Worka 13 kms from Gedeb town. He owns 6.5 hectares of coffee farm in one place and another 3 hectares in another place within the same village. He works full time in his farm assisted by his able children who completed their primary education but couldn’t find another job in towns. Mr Bekele, who is the father of 11 children, fully relied on the income he generated from his coffee farm. The coffee farm business also supports his two elder married sons who also work together with him.

Mr Bekele Gemeda was incredibly grateful to see the care he has put into his coffee showed well enough in the cup to have his coffee kept separate, something that is rare in Ethiopia.

Single Farmer Project

The Single Farmer Project is the result of an effort to support Ethiopian producers with a marketplace for farm-traceable coffees. Back in 2012, during a turbulent time in Ethiopia’s coffee exporting history, Partner and CEO Jason Long worked with an established cooperative to export some of the first ever truly “Farm Traceable” lots from Ethiopia.

This was the first time a roaster could highlight the individual farmer for their Ethiopian Coffee. It was the start of an incredible project and truly began the movement for traceability in Ethiopia as we see more often today. This project also gave us some very fun stories like literally bringing a backpack full of Ethiopian Birr to Yirgacheffe with COO Noah Namowicz to pay the premiums directly to these farmers who participated.

This project is made possible in conjunction with important export partners supporting and bringing to market individual farmer lots. Samples are sent out to potential buyers, price is negotiated on the farmers’ behalf, and contracts are only accepted when the producer agrees on a sales price and their name is on the contract for each coffee they sell.

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Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

Dose: 20g ground coffee
Yield: 60g espresso
Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
Labels: recyclable
Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

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Our packaging

Producer: Bekele Gemeda
Farm/Coop: Halo Beriti
Country: Ethiopia
Region: Worka, Gedeb, Yirgacheffe
Altitude: 1780-2100m above sea level
Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom
Process: washed
Harvested: January 2024
Country grade: Grade 1 (Ethiopia)
Importer: Cafe Imports
Body
Acidity
Tasting notes: Orange marmalade, peach, apricot
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Variety

Ethiopian Heirloom variety

Heirloom (or sometimes Landrace) is an umbrella term that refers to all the coffee varietals endemic to Ethiopia.

The location

Coffee from Ethiopia

Seen as the birthplace of domesticated coffee, there are not many more exciting times at the Sample warehouse as when our fresh Ethiopian lots arrive. Legend says it’s our favourite origin…

The Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia

Unique for its floral and highly aromatic coffees. Some our of very favourite and memorable Ethiopian coffees have emerged from this legendary region.

Farm processes

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.