Ethiopia 2023

Hello, everyone! This is Ayane Yamada from TYPICA.

We have some news that is sure to be exciting for roasters – confirmation of the arrival times for various coffee samples from Ethiopia!

This year, in addition to offering samples from partners like Wete Ambela Coffee, Nardos, and Moplaco, we also plan to add samples from a new curator. The first phase of products should be arriving around the middle of February, so we hope you’re excited to see what’s in store!

Quality and prices

When asked about the quality of this year’s beans, Wete Ambela Coffee’s export manager, Elias  told us, “The quality of this year’s batch is very good. There wasn’t much rain during the flowering season last year, so the size of the beans, especially those from Guji, was a bit smaller than usual. However, we had much better weather this year, which produced excellent coffee cherries.”

Last month, members from the TYPICA Quality Control team had the opportunity to cup several of the incoming samples. Even though the coffee they tried was made from cherries that were fresh from the drying bed, they confirmed that the quality was noticeably higher than the batch we received last year.

Biniyam from Nardos had this to say about this year’s prices. “The price of coffee cherries went up from around 45 – 60 Birr per 1 kg to 55 – 80 Birr this year. There are a couple of factors that led to this increase. The first was the establishment of minimum export prices by the Ethiopian government, as well as the start of vertical integration, a scheme implemented from 2021 that allows purchasers to buy from exporters without having to go through ECX regulations. Additionally, we’ve seen a sharp increase in the number of exporters operating due to increased demand and civil wars causing a drop in the value of foreign currencies. Coffee is the most important commodity when it comes to earning foreign currency, so last year many people who weren’t previously in the coffee industry entered the fray. Unfortunately, this led to a situation where about 10 to 15 percent of the beans ending up unprocessed because they couldn’t be sold. We’ve already seen a trend of some of these new exporters leaving the coffee industry to pursue other ventures.”

From a long-term perspective, the liberalization of the coffee trade in Ethiopia is an excellent move, but at present, the confusion it is causing locally seems to be reflected in the unstable coffee prices.

Curator news and topics

Wete Ambela Coffee

・With only limited exceptions, most of their coffee washing stations (CWS) received organic certification from JAS and Europe Organic.

・We have procured a greater amount of stock this year. This includes Guji Natural coffee lots, which sold out almost instantly last year. They are also offering new lots including Honey processed and Anaerobic coffees, G2 and G3 selections, and more.

Moplaco

・In addition to Sidamo, they’ll also be offering coffee produced in various regions including Harar and Sheka.

・Their special nano-lots that use unique processing methods such as “dandelion processing” should garner a lot of attention. Don’t miss the opportunity to try out these limited lots that will only be available through Moplaco.

Nardos Coffee

・Despite soaring prices throughout the region, they are still offering their coffees at the same prices as last year. This is a tribute to the fact that they place value on long-term client relationships over single-year profits.

・In addition to the acclaimed Dimtu G1 and Shakiso G1 coffees from last year, they have added Dimtu Honey and Sakicha, a new CWS, to the lineup. G2 and G3 selections will also be available.

・Based on roaster feedback, this year’s green beans will be re-sorted after normal processing.

Offering period

This year, we’ll be offering samples in two phases. This will allow us to make expedited shipments, giving customers the opportunity to try their samples as soon as possible.

Phase 1 [Mid-February] Yirgacheffe, Guji G1 (Wete Ambela Coffee, Nardos)

Phase 2 [Mid-March] Yirgacheffe, Guji G2, Guji G3, Sidamo (Moplaco, new curator)

Don’t miss out on this once-a-year seasonal opportunity!