Recent changes to Ethiopian regulation allows us to showcase single producer lots such as this spectacular coffee from Meselech Tubie. Expect cola bottles, honeydew melon, and pear.

Meselech Tube has been farming coffee in Sidamo since the 1990s. She inherited Shantaweyne Farm from her family and today, she supports her 6 children with the profits from her coffee business. Three of her adult children work with her on the farm. Single producer lots from Ethiopia aren't common, but due to recent changes to government regulation we're now able to purchase coffee with traceability directly to the producer. With this regulation change, Meselech has a desire for her coffee to be known around the world.

To do this, she is investing in specialty-quality cultivation and processing, she has introduced high quality varieties from the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) to the farm. JARC is responsible for developing many of the varieties that flourish across Ethiopia today. She is also investing in upgrading her processing infrastructure, showing her commitment to improving quality and yields. Meselech intercrops coffee trees with banana, avocado and mango trees as well as timber tree and enset (false banana). She also has some livestock and uses manure as well as other organic farm byproducts to fertilize her coffee trees.

The harvest season typically runs from November to January. Meselech selectively handpicks ripe, red cherry and processes it on her farm. This lot was specifically fermented in anaerobic conditions to enhance flavour. She then dries the cherry on raised beds and rakes them frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 2 to 3 weeks for cherry to dry.

The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX), founded in 2008, aimed to boost Ethiopia's economy by improving access to credit, market info, and transportation for coffee farmers. It provided benefits like faster payments, NYSE price access, and centralized warehousing. However, for the specialty coffee industry, a major concern was the lack of traceability, as coffees were sold in regional lots, obscuring individual origins. In 2017, regulations were relaxed, allowing traceability and direct negotiations between producers and exporters, benefiting specialty coffee. Despite this, the ECX remains a positive force for many small-scale farmers across Ethiopia.