Ethiopia — Tamiru Tadesse Alo Village Main Station 74158 "Sky Project" (Whole Shade Dry Natural)

Tastes Like — 🍑 Fig • 🍇 White Grape • 🍵 Black Tea • 🍑 Peach

DETAILS

• Producer: Tamiru Tadesse
• Farm: Alo Village, Main Station
• Region: Bensa, Sidama, Ethiopia
• Varietal: 74158
• Process: Whole Shade Dry Natural
• Elevation: 2,450–2,500 masl
• Project: Sky Project (with Tri-Up Coffee)

INTRO
Part of the ongoing Sky Project — a long-term collaboration between Tri-Up Coffee and Alo Coffee exploring cultivation at increasingly higher elevations, where cooler temperatures and greater day-to-night swings let cherries mature more slowly and retain more sugar. Fig and white grape sweetness lead, with a black tea structure and peach depth throughout. In the cup: fig, white grape, black tea, and peach.

THE PRODUCER
Alo Coffee was founded in Bensa, Sidama, by Tamiru Tadesse and his wife Messi, driven by a belief that great coffee should never be overlooked — determined to challenge a system that undervalued both quality and the farmers behind it. In 2021, their very first lot from the village of Alo won Ethiopia's Cup of Excellence, a historic victory that proved what passion and precision could achieve, opening new possibilities for an entire community of growers. Today, Alo Coffee continues that work with farmers at the centre, meticulous processing, and deep respect for Sidama's terroirs — not just showcasing exciting Ethiopian coffee, but reshaping what it can mean to the world.

THE PROCESS
Ripe cherries are handpicked and floated to remove lower-density fruit, ensuring a clean, uniform selection before fermentation. The selected cherries are placed into barrels with hot water, creating a warm, controlled fermentation environment, and ferment for four days, monitored until reaching a final pH of 3.8. Following fermentation, cherries are kept whole and dried entirely in the shade for a slow, gentle process that preserves the coffee's delicate aromatic profile, with beds covered during peak sunlight (12–3pm) to prevent overheating. Once reaching 11-11.5% moisture, the cherries are sealed in GrainPro bags to preserve and enhance aromatic development, then stored in traditional jute bags and rested for a minimum of 45 days before dry milling.

The warm-water barrel fermentation combined with entirely shaded drying is the defining step — together they build the fig and white grape sweetness that define this cup, while preserving a delicate black tea structure and peach depth.

THE CUP
Sweet and structured — fig and white grape sweetness lead, with a black tea structure running throughout and a peach depth on the finish. A precise, high-altitude showcase from Alo's ongoing climate-adaptation project.

Flavour Notes
🍑 Fig 🍇 White Grape 🍵 Black Tea 🍑 Peach