This coffee comes from the farm of Mengeche Derso, a seasoned producer with more than four decades of experience in Ethiopian coffee. Together with his four children, he cultivates 15 hectares at 2,300 MASL, and delivers his cherries to Halo Beriti washing station. It’s a rare chance to taste coffee tied so closely to one grower’s skill and dedication — with flavours of cherry and chocolate torte that shine on both espresso and filter.
We sourced this lot through Café Imports’ Single Farmer Project, launched in 2012 to highlight individual producers and bring their coffees to market with full traceability. In 2019, Ethiopian regulations changed to allow private producers to own washing stations and export their coffee directly, rather than going through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange or large cooperative unions. In practice, many smallholder farmers lacked the credit, infrastructure, language skills, or capacity to manage exports and wait for delayed payments. To bridge this gap, Café Imports partners with private exporters like Boledu Coffee, who own Halo Beriti washing station and source coffees from individual producers such as Mengeche Derso.
The coffee was harvested between October 2024 and January 2025. After being delivered to coffee cherries to Halo Beriti washing station, they were sorted, then rinsed clean of dirt. The cherries were then dried on tables for 8-25 days (weather-dependent).
This is the first single origin microlot we have purchased from the importing company, Café Imports. It landed in the UK in June 2025.
For further details on the prices below visit our Transparency Page.
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