Grape jelly, blood orange, purple flower. Lush, vivid, and impossible to ignore from the first sip.
Tamiru Tadesse was an electrical engineer before he became one of Ethiopia's most celebrated coffee producers. On his very first submission to the Cup of Excellence, he won first place. A debut that announced Alo Coffee to the world, and confirmed what Tamiru had always believed: that the coffees of Bensa, Sidama were not just competitive. They were among the finest in the world.
His Hatessa micro-lot grows at 2,320 to 2,460 metres above sea level, an altitude once considered too extreme for coffee. At this elevation, cherries take months to ripen rather than weeks. That slow development is not a delay. It is where the complexity is built.
The process earns its name. Ripe cherries are sealed in tanks for exactly 72 hours of anaerobic fermentation, where an oxygen-free environment unlocks a depth and distinctiveness that open-air processing cannot achieve. After fermentation, the cherries dry on raised beds for 25 days, turned every hour without exception, before resting sealed in GrainPro bags for a minimum of 45 days. Tamiru does not rush.
Every decision, from the altitude to the final rest, shows up in the cup.
