About This Coffee
Gutema Yeshi joined the Lalisaa program because he wanted to access markets where he can promote his own coffee. Gutema is dedicated to working hard to produce great coffee and believes his work should be rewarded. We took him up on his offer to visit his farm and see his processing infrastructure and when tasted his coffee after our visit, we understood why he thought his coffee warranted higher prices. Afterall, that’s what the Lalisaa program is about: incentivizing great coffee with economic benefits and the chance to promote your own coffee on a global market. Gutema was on board. Working with us, he makes higher profits for his meticulous work.
Gutema inherited his farm in 1998 and has been cultivating coffee there ever since.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Coffee is selectively handpicked and floated to remove any underripe cherry. Ripe cherry is then laid on bamboo raised beds to sundry. Drying cherry is turned regularly to ensure even drying and sorted to remove any visually damaged cherry. It takes approximately 21 days to dry. Once dry, cherry is rested and then sent to a dry mill to be prepared for export.
About Lalisaa
Lalisaa is a term used to describe something that is flourishing and growing. Our Lalisaa coffees, initiated by Sucafina staff, began with the recognition that the supply chain in Ethiopia was failing to benefit smallholder farmers or reward them for producing quality coffee.
The program encourages strong growing practices, rewards the production of quality coffee and helps farmers take control of their part of the supply chain by partnering directly with smallholders.
New farmers are onboarded each year for a training program that is intended to help farmers improve yields and quality while also accessing new markets and financial services. Farmers in the program participate in a wide range of activities including designing, and later revising, a farm management plan, accessing financing for larger farm projects and more.
Currently, Lalissa is compromised of 97 farmers located within the acclaimed coffee-producing regions of Kochere, Gedeb, Yirgacheffe, Shakiso, Bule Hora and Sidama. In addition to working with farmers to improve quality and yield, Sucafina Ethiopia is, through Lalisaa, making introductions between roasters and farmers. By bringing roasters to visit farmers and begin discussions, Lalisaa coffees are helping make connections and developing relationships between farmers and their potential clients. This will enable direct trade relationships that can benefit both farmers and roasters.
Ethiopia Grade 1
Grades in Ethiopia depend on visual inspection for defects and on cup quality. Grade 1 is considered the highest quality coffee. Grade 1 and 2 are considered specialty coffee, grades 3-9 are classified as commercial coffee. Grade 1 is free of cup faults and taints and has zero quakers.
Coffee in Ethiopia
While Ethiopia is famous as coffee’s birthplace, today it remains a specialty coffee industry darling for its incredible variety of flavors. While full traceability has been difficult in recent history, new regulations have made direct purchasing possible. We’re partnering directly with farmers to help them produce top quality specialty lots that are now completely traceable, adding value for farmers and roasters, alike.
The exceptional quality of Ethiopian coffee is due to a combination of factors. The genetic diversity of coffee varieties means that we find a diversity of flavor, even between (or within) farms with similar growing conditions and processing. In addition to varieties, processing methods also contribute to end quality. The final key ingredients for excellent coffee in Ethiopia are the producing traditions that have created the genetic diversity, processing infrastructure and great coffee we enjoy today.
Most producers in Ethiopia are smallholders, and the majority continue to cultivate coffee using traditional methods. As a result, most coffee is grown with no chemical fertilizer or pesticide use. Coffee is almost entirely cultivated, harvested and dried using manual systems.