Ethiopia — Alo Coffee Chilaka Station Landrace (Anaerobic Natural)

Tastes Like — 🍇 Black Currant • 🍈 Guava • 🌼 Chamomile • 🥤 Cola

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DETAILS

• Producer: Tamiru Tadesse, Alo Coffee
• Farm: Smallholder farmers, Chilaka Station
• Region: Bensa, Sidama, Ethiopia
• Varietal: Landrace
• Process: Anaerobic Natural
• Altitude: 2200 masl
• Size: 283g (10oz)

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INTRO

Alo Coffee's selections represent the core of their work in Bensa, high-elevation coffees sourced from surrounding smallholder farmers. Through precise harvesting and carefully managed processing, Alo produces clean, expressive lots that showcase the clarity, sweetness, and floral complexity that define Sidama's most celebrated terroir. This natural process coffee is fermented in the fruit, undergoing 36 hours of limited oxygen fermentation. The fruit of the coffee is then dried for approximately twenty days on raised beds. The processing impact in the final cup is noticeable, with flavour heavily indicating fruit-forward signs of fermentation within the overall cup profile.

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THE PRODUCER

Alo Coffee was founded by Tamiru Tadesse and his wife, Messi, shortly after Ethiopia's first Cup of Excellence competition in 2020. After years working within the Ethiopian coffee sector and experiencing widespread issues around undervalued quality and inconsistent pricing, the introduction of CoE demonstrated that exceptional coffees could finally receive proper recognition. In 2021 their first submission, a lot produced in their home village of Alo in Bensa, won Ethiopia's Cup of Excellence, setting the foundation for their quality-driven approach. Alo Coffee operates an extensive network of high-end processing stations throughout Sidama's Bensa, Bona, and Burra zones. They work directly with 60 farmers at the Alo Washing Station and more than 800 farmers across their broader network, with a strong commitment to community support.

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THE PROCESS

The Anaerobic Natural process involves controlled fermentation:

• 🍒 Cherry Selection — Precise harvesting of ripe cherries from smallholder farmers
• 🫙 Anaerobic Fermentation — 36 hours of limited oxygen fermentation in sealed tanks
• ☀️ Raised Bed Drying — Approximately 20 days on raised beds
• 👀 Quality Control — Constant turning and monitoring throughout drying
• 🫘 Resting — Coffee stabilised before export

This careful processing creates clean, expressive lots that showcase the region's distinctive character.

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THE CUP

Clean and expressive with fruit-forward character. Black currant, guava, chamomile, and cola. Noticeable fermentation notes add complexity whilst maintaining clarity and sweetness. A refined expression of Bensa terroir.

Flavour Notes

• 🍇 Black Currant
• 🍈 Guava
• 🌼 Chamomile
• 🥤 Cola

What is the roast recency?

We recommend brewing with beans that are at least two weeks off roast. All beans are roasted to peak flavour at around 6-12 weeks. We have the option to either purchase standard beans (at least 2 weeks but no longer than 6 weeks off roast), or rested beans (at least 7 weeks off roast, no longer than 12 - should we have any left in stock!). For peak flavour, if you are looking to use immediately, we recommend purchasing the rested beans. If you are adding to your rotation of beans, we recommend purchasing the standard and allowing the beans to naturally rest and mature whilst you rotate through other beans.