Our Ethiopia Sidamo is fruit-forward with a syrupy body and a sweet finish. It starts with notes of marionberry fruitiness at the front end of the cup, which are joined by sweet orange citrus notes in the middle of the cup. There are soft notes of chocolate nougat throughout the cup and they shine in the finish as the fruit flavors begin to fade. The finish is chocolatey and sweet with subtle notes of vanilla maple syrup. This is one of our cupping team's favorites year after year. 

Roast Color: Medium

Cupping Notes: Marionberry, Sweet Orange, Chocolate Nougat

Story: As anywhere in Ethiopia, the vast majority of coffee growers in the Uraga district are small—2-4 acres usually—although larger estates do have a foothold in the Guji zone as a whole, thanks to the openness of the territory and the proven ability of estate owners to maintain their canopy and favor organic inputs. Milkesa Anole’s farm, a 40-hectare estate in Uraga, is one such property. 

Milkesa was born and raised in a coffee-growing family and has spent his entire life in farming of coffee and Ethiopia’s domestic coffee trade. Now with his own farm to manage, he’s able to apply a lifetime of experience to a large volume of coffee, meticulously managing harvesting and processing to his standards. Naturals dry for 3-6 weeks here due to the high elevations and cold, humid nighttime climates, and are raked almost continuously during the day to prevent spoiling. The size of the farm, and volume of coffee processed, requires 90-100 harvesttime employees, making Milkesa one of the larger employers in his area. 

Milkesa exports coffee via Guji Coffee Export PLC, who also manages central processing facilities in Sidama, Gedeo, Guji, Limu, Jimma and Nekempte zones, as well as a 150-hectare plantation in Sidama with over 1,000 smallholders who contribute cherry to the processing facilities there.