Ethiopia Halo Hartume

The Mijane family’s pursuit of traceability
Ethiopia is truly the home of coffee. Some estimates place the number of coffee varieties in Ethiopia between 6000 to 10,000, and the Gedeo Zone in southern Ethiopia is home to many of these. On top of genetic differences in the coffee itself, differences in farming practices, soil, shade trees, and water can lend different nuances to the flavor of the coffee.

In the recent past, it was very difficult to source Ethiopian coffee from a particular region or grower. Traceability was a big problem and coffee lots of the same grade would often be lumped together as one, taking Ethiopia’s myriad unique flavors and blending them in no particular order.

But recent changes to export laws in Ethiopia have made it easier to source coffee from a particular washing station or mill – or even an individual farmer – helping preserve each region’s unique taste. This newfound freedom for smaller washing stations and farmers to export their coffee directly is an exciting development for Ato Mijane Worassa and his son Daniel (who manages the family’s different washing stations and mills). The Mijane family has run washing stations in the Gedeb region of the Gedeo zone for decades, and one of their goals is to export traceable coffee from each kebele (the smallest administrative division in Ethiopia) in Gedeb separately.

It is for this reason that they opened their second washing station at Halo Hartume. Farmers from the area no longer need to transport their cherries to the Mijane’s Worka Sakaro station, which is a bit of a journey from Halo Hartume. Because of this, the coffee from Halo Hartume is not mixed in with other coffees from the region and stays pure and traceable. In addition, smallholders in the area can get their coffee to the washing station soon after picking, ensuring that the coffee does not develop overly fruity flavors.

This coffee has a serious wow factor! We taste: Peach, Lemon, Jasmine