Ethiopia Sidama Shantawene — Natural

The Producer

This lot comes from Tomas Graraoma, a former Sidama freedom fighter then civil servant who took over his father’s land in 2011. His farm, Shantawene is located in the Bensa area of Sidama. Unlike most smallholders in the area, Tomas processes his coffee at his own drying station which gives him full control of the quality, from harvest through to storage.

He has a full-time staff of just three and employs a further 40 during the harvest months of late September to the end of December.

The main varietal Tomas grows is JARC 74158. Ethiopia’s Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC) developed a number of varieties from local indigenous (heirloom) varietals. Generally, Ethiopian people grow a mixture of heirloom and developed varieties on their farms.

His coffee grows over a 4-hectare area under the canopy of native shade trees which keeps the soil fertile and rich in nutrients.

The Exceptional Genetic Diversity of Coffee in Ethiopia

The vast majority of the genetic diversity of Arabica coffee is in the wild in Ethiopia, and it is under severe threat due to global warming. Substantial efforts are being made to save it – given that coffee is a key crop that supports 100 million + people worldwide and the loss of this diversity could be catastrophic – from the perspectives of climate change, cup quality & diversity, yields and pest and disease resistance. Here are some excellent introductory articles to these issues:

• Global coffee researchers gather in London | AgriLife Today (tamu.edu) – Origin owner Joel Singer met Tim Schilling in Huye Rwanda in 2007 before he left the PEARL project to become director of the World Coffee Research Institute. 
• Global warming brews big trouble in coffee birthplace Ethiopia (ippmedia.com)
• Coffee under threat – BBC News

The Evolving Picture of Traceability in Ethiopian Coffee

The traceability situation and export model in Ethiopia continue to evolve. Back in 2015, Joel visited Ethiopia with our partners Mercanta (to Addis to see exporters, and to Yirgacheffe & Guji). We had the chance to speak to top exporters and to begin to understand the difficulty of traceability and getting the best prices to farmers under the ECX model. While it had been established with the best of intentions for producers, there were significant issues with the ECX system. The ECX was intended to limit underhanded practices (eg black market), and to achieve higher prices for farmers.

Unfortunately, the model did not necessarily best serve high end speciality roasters or the producers of those exceptional coffees, as the ability for roasters/importers/exporters to establish relationships with top producers had been lost, even as the worldwide speciality coffee market was evolving and growing. At the end of 2017, this mandatory system was overturned and full traceability once again became possible.