2026 New Crop Ethiopia Alo Safo 74158 Zero fermentation washed

Ethiopia — Tamiru Tadesse & Messi Alo Safo JARC 74158 (Zero Fermentation Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍈 Lychee • 🍇 Green Grape • 🍦 Vanilla • 🍵 Bergamot • 🍊 Orange Candy

DETAILS

• Producer: Tamiru Tadesse & Messi — Alo Coffee
• Station: Alo Safo (Alo Main Station)
• Region: Bensa, Sidama, Ethiopia
• Varietal: JARC 74158
• Process: Zero Fermentation Washed
• Altitude: 2,380–2,600 MASL
• Harvest: January 2026 — Arrived May 2026 by air

INTRO

From Tamiru Tadesse and Messi at Alo Coffee's main Safo station — a zero fermentation washed JARC 74158 from one of Ethiopia's most celebrated and purposeful specialty operations. Sourced exclusively from cherries grown above 2,300 MASL, processed without any tank fermentation, and dried over 30 days across two distinct environments. A coffee of extraordinary purity and aromatic precision. In the cup: lychee, green grape, vanilla, bergamot, and orange candy.

THE PRODUCER

Alo Coffee was founded by Tamiru Tadesse and his wife Messi after Tamiru witnessed first-hand the unfair pricing and systemic undervaluation faced by local coffee farmers throughout his years working in the industry. Inspired by Ethiopia's inaugural Cup of Excellence competition in 2020, the couple launched their own venture — and in 2021, their specialty coffee from their home village of Alo in Bensa claimed the national championship, cementing their commitment to crafting world-class Sidama specialty coffee and transforming a personal mission into one of Ethiopia's most rapidly celebrated producer stories.

Alo Coffee now operates an extensive network of high-altitude processing stations across Bensa, Bona, Burra, and Nensebo, working in close collaboration with smallholder partners and producing some of the highest-scoring microlots in Ethiopia year on year. The Safo station — Alo's main station — sits at 2,380–2,600 MASL, among the highest processing altitudes in all of Ethiopia, where extreme elevation, volcanic soils, and cool temperatures build the aromatic concentration and refined sweetness that define the best Alo Coffee lots.

THE PROCESS

The Zero Fermentation Washed process at Alo Safo involves:

🍒 Selective hand-picking — Only premium, fully ripe red cherries grown above 2,300 MASL selected for this lot 🌅 Afternoon collection — Cherries collected in the late afternoon to ensure they are processed at their peak 🔍 Pre-dawn cleaning — Cleaned through a steel screen to remove impurities before dawn the following day 🔧 Penagos depulping — Depulped immediately using professional Penagos equipment 💧 Immediate thorough rinsing — Parchment coffee rinsed immediately and thoroughly with clean water — with absolutely no tank fermentation at any stage 🌑 Shaded raised-bed drying — Parchment laid on shaded African raised beds for slow natural drying for 15 days 🏠 Indoor rack finishing — Moved to multi-layer indoor drying racks in cool, ventilated rooms to finish drying, completing a total drying cycle of approximately 30 days

The complete absence of tank fermentation is the defining step — by immediately rinsing the depulped parchment rather than allowing any fermentation to occur, Tamiru and Messi eliminate all fermentation influence entirely, allowing the intrinsic character of the JARC 74158 varietal and the extraordinary terroir to express themselves with pure, unmediated transparency. The 30-day dual-environment drying — beginning on shaded raised beds and completing indoors in cool, ventilated conditions — preserves the delicate aromatic structure that this approach unlocks.

THE CUP

A study in pure terroir and varietal expression from one of Ethiopia's most decorated and purposeful specialty producers — lychee and green grape clarity, vanilla warmth, bergamot refinement, and a bright orange candy sweetness in a cup of exceptional purity and aromatic precision. The highest altitude, the most restrained processing, and the clearest possible window into what Alo Coffee's Safo station is capable of.

Flavour Notes

🍈 Lychee 🍇 Green Grape 🍦 Vanilla 🍵 Bergamot 🍊 Orange Candy