Ethiopia
Halo Beriti
Special Preparation 2020

Washed process Ethiopian Heirloom

Flavour: fanta, mandarin, marmalade

Body: Acidity:

Halo or Halu Beriti Washing Station was established in 2014 and serves 750 smallholder producers, who deliver their coffee in cherry form.

This particular lot is part of a “special preparation” in which hand-sorting was done repeatedly throughout the receiving and drying process, ensuring that only perfect cherries made it into the bags.

Coffees in Ethiopia are typically traceable to the washing station level, where smallholder farmers—many of whom own less than ½ hectare of land, and as little as 1/8 hectare on average—deliver cherry by weight to receive payment at a market rate.

The coffee is sorted and processed into lots without retaining information about whose coffee harvest is in which bag or which lot.

Learn everything about this coffee:

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

Learn more:
Our packaging

Producer: 750 Smallholders
Country: Ethiopia
Region: Gedeb, Yirgacheffe
Altitude: 2100–2300m above sea level
Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom
Process: washed
Importer: Cafe Imports
Body: Light
Acidity: Refined
Tasting notes: Fanta, mandarin, marmalade
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.