SHEKA FOREST (DECAF)

This Ethiopian Decaf delivers a great cup for both filter and espresso, with a lot of rich sweetness and florality. When we think decaf, we don’t like to think compromise and this coffee really delivers there, it is a great round cup that is delicious to drink at any time of day. 

About Limmu Kossa

Limmu Kossa is a project founded in 2000 by Gidhe Berhe. He understood the region had great opportunity and approached the entire project with love for not only the trees, soil, environment but also creating a micro-economy to benefit everyone involved. Gideh provided access to knowledge, seedling and assistance to surrounding farms. Pushing the local community to develop churches, schools, hospitals and roads. Gidhe used coffee to transcend a basic commodity and make real change in a real community. In 2004 Gide and Abiy met. Abiy acted as a local ambassador, informing everyone in the region and beyond about the project. Abiy provided a perfect symbiotic partner to the Limmu Kossa project that was already making accruable change at origin.

When trying to find a project that we wanted to work with in Ethiopia, it was admittedly a complicated process. Typically, the projects lack the structural simplicity or transparency that we feel comfortable working with. The growers/farmers at origin who are periphery small holders in Ethiopia do not have easy access to the differentiated market. We worked with a few Ethiopian projects, but none that felt like a 100% match. Finding farmer driven chains such as those established by Sakami or those in the works by Empaako or MonKaaba is important to us. This gap is important to us because often when we would ask importers for FOB we would be given a number that was often more than double the farmgate price, with exporters taking a cut greater than what the growers would obtain per kilo of coffee.

Gideh is doing exactly that in Galeh, shortening the supply chain forming lasting relationships with local growers creating meaningful change in the way coffee is transacted in this region. With much of the profit from these projects being used on healthcare, education and access to training for farming and agronomics. To facilitate long term change for growers to export their coffees at premium prices. The local community have named Gideh „Abba Ollie“ which translates to „he who uplifts“ as a recognition for the work he has done for the local community and those around him.

The landscape of the farms are by all measures phenomenal, we have not yet had the chance to visit, but we have seen many photos, the coffee trees grow wild, with their rich genetic lineage, with natural varietal heirlooms growing under ancient trees. This coffee is the exact image we think of when we picture „shade grown coffee“, in this rich native forest home to incredible microclimates. The land does not need inputs, everything the coffee needs to grow is already there, the land provides.

When talking to our friends at ThisSideUp about our concerns with working with Ethiopian coffee they expressed a similar sentiment to us. At von&vonnie we find ourselves in a place excited about the future of working with Ethiopian coffee once again, a region that produces our favourite coffees every year. We have searched for a long time to find a project we believed in that addresses our concerns in production and the supply chain.

Farmers who work in this area are highly committed to the sustainable use of the forests. Still, they often need more income to avoid logging and unsustainable forest exploitation. To Gidhe, growing coffee seemed like a perfect solution, and so, as with his other projects, he embarked on this adventure. The region's rich soil is the only solace for its inaccessibility - coffee can only be transported out of the farm by slow but reliable donkeys and mules. Added to this, the processing can become compromised because of the constant rain (it rains 9 months a year!). The coffee is staggernly rich in florals and fruits though, and we are so proud to support this ambitious ecological masterpiece of a project.

- This Side Up

About the processing: 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 midseason) and naturals (late season).  Fully ripe cherries are spread evenly on raised beds and turned every hour to prevent molding, especially in the first few days. Sun-dried for at least 12 days.

About the Roast: We roasted this coffee to a medium light to have a full, rich mouth feel but still keeping that floral and sweetness in the cup. Roast Level: Medium light (88 Agtron)

About the coffee:
Region: Sheka Forest Biosphere Reserve, South West Ethiopia
Altitude: 1,650- 1,800 MASL
Importer: ThisSideUp
Exporter: Limmu Kossa
Harvest: 2024/25
Farmgate price:  Work in Progress
FOB Price: Work in Progress

View a full breakdown of costs our margins here (Use the lookup function)