After a week in Yemen, I had some days in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to cup at various export offices, and basically get a lay of the land. (Nov 2007 Trip)
It’s really too early to evaluate new cropRefers to fresh shipments of green coffee within the first month or two of the earliest arrivals ... not quite the same as Current Crop, which means the... ...more lots in November. Harvest has began in some areas, and some early regions (ie. Limu) are in mid-harvest. So I plan to be back in mid-February to do some real cuppingCupping is a method of tasting coffee by steeping grounds in separate cups for discrete amounts of ground coffee, to reveal good flavors and defects to their fullest.... ...more. But for now I get t meet some of the people I have been buying from, and get a feeling for how the new crop will be.
Oromia Welcome Sign – Made from laser print clippings; it works for me! This is Oromia’s cupping lab but was formerly their entire office complex. I guess since their huge expansion and “Black Gold” fame, they could afford nicer digs. Ethiopia Ethiopia 
Tilahun Mekonen – Cupper – Tilahun is the main cupper for Oromia farmer’s cooperative union, and for Moredecofe coop. He has something like 25 years cupping experience. Ethiopia Ethiopia 
tom- cupping at oromia – Me, cupping a Oromia Coffee Farmer’s Cooperative Union. Yes, OCFCU. Ethiopia Ethiopia Tilahun cupping Limu – The last coffee on the bench was a very interesing natural Limu coffee. Ethiopia Ethiopia addis street scene – Typical Addis Ababa street scene. Addis seems very nice, and compared to Yemen you see many more caucasoids roaming around, mostly from Europe but a good deal of Americans. Ethiopia Ethiopia Next stop, Ambassa – Ethiopia Ethiopia 
Helen Butique – Typical speling misteaks. Ethiopia Ethiopia Funny Coffee Tree Painting – at the entrance, I think they ran out of room to finish the top, but the trees in the yard next door make it seem natural. Ethiopia Ethiopia Sample Baskets – The hand-made baskets make good trays to sort though samples. Ethiopia Ethiopia Kenya cupping method – They use a Kenya method of cupping, where they fill the cup half way with hot water, wait, break the crust, then fill the cup to the rim. Ethiopia Ethiopia 4 barrel probat – They use new gas-powered Probat sample roasters (actually this is 2x 2 barrel roasters). Ethiopia Ethiopia old probat 5 barrel sample roaster – Ambassa also has an older probat 5 barrel sample roaster sitting as decoration across the way. I sure could use it! Ethiopia Ethiopia Sample ladies – I failed to get their names, but they do the sample preparation, grinding and roasting. Ethiopia Ethiopia Others? – Ethiopia Ethiopia frankenstein cupper – Cupping with in our Sweet Maria’s Frankenstein shirt. Kinda odd. Ethiopia Ethiopia Sanitary Method – Tim was ill, so he cupped using the so-called sanitary method … that means he used a separate bowl and sipped directly from it, rather than putting a spoon to his mouth. Ethiopia Ethiopia 
very cool vintage coffee package – An older Ethiopia export coffee bag – nice graphics! Ethiopia Ethiopia AMB’s washed offerings – Washed coffees, meaning wet-processed. Ethiopia Ethiopia Late Afternoon Shadow – A coffee truck loaded up, casting a long shadow, at the Ambassa warehouse in Addis Ababa Ethiopia Ethiopia Degu Aseffa and Geoffrey Wetherell – Ambassa was started in 1973 by Geoffrey and Degu. The government nationalized many industries the next year (1974) but coffee was never truly brought under goverment control. However, new regulations made business difficult and eventually Ambassa had little coffee to sell. After the defeat of the socialists in 1991, they restarted AMB, and built it back up. Ethiopia Ethiopia Tim, Degu and Geoffrey – Tim Chapdelaine, Degu Aseffa and Geoffrey Wetherell at the AMB office in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia Ethiopia typical fiat in ethiopia – fix it again tony. there are so man older fiats here, due to the historical relation …er, occupation … of Ethiopia by Italy. Ethiopia Ethiopia Another Addis Ababa Fiat – An older Fiat wagon in Addis. Ethiopia Ethiopia Mattabu Zemanual – Mattabu Zemanual shuttled us to the dentist, then over to the Mullege coffee plant in Addis, our first stop for cupping that day. Mattabu has a lot of family in the US, all working as pharmacists, and he lived in Dallas for 25 years. He has more of a jazz musician accent that a drawl. Ethiopia Ethiopia tim chapdelaine – tim and his morning cup, an not 10 mintues after we visited the denist to get his crown glued back in (total bill $7.00!) Ethiopia Ethiopia Urban Herd – It’s typical to see a lot of livestock in Addis … not that’s fresh food! Ethiopia Ethiopia Mullege Plant, Massive! – This is not Mullege’s only plant, but it is HUGE. It was bought at auction from the Government. They built it during the socialist era and it was constructed to process 13 to 15 containers per day! Ethiopia Ethiopia Control Panels – I was fascinated with the vintage control panels used to operate each section of the coffee mill. Ethiopia Ethiopia Red Light Means Danger – Red Light Means Danger Ethiopia Ethiopia Solid State – These amazing solid state panels were so cool. The entire plant looked so new, as if it had been frozen in time when it was first constructed (my guess, 1978, but probably in the ’80s using older machines) Ethiopia Ethiopia Golfetto – And the manufacturer is … you guessed it, Italian. Golfetto? Maker of golf carts? Ethiopia Ethiopia Coffee density separators – These are pneumatic density separators. I did not see any Oliver table -type separators on this trip, but rather these air-based ones. Personally, I think the tables from oliver and the like are better. Ethiopia Ethiopia Maintenance Time. – Forget Hand Sorting! Maintenance at the electronic color sorters, which is probably ALL the time, with all this amazing vintage equipment. This is one row of optical color sorters, 10 machines. There are 10 rows … meaning they have 100 2 lane Sortex optical sorters! Ethiopia Ethiopia Optical sorting outfeed – These belts are were the 10 rows of optical sorters feed out. Ethiopia Ethiopia Seriously Vintage – If this stuff was from the US, I would place it in the ’50’s or ’60s. Big knobs, big lights, big gauges, Ethiopia Ethiopia Mahabub Mustafa – Mahabub is the General Manager of the mill. It’s a family business, so his father is the President and his mother is the CFO. Ethiopia Ethiopia Mattabu, Mahabub and Yilma from Mulege, who are now GONE!. In Addis – Mattabu, Mahabub and Yilma. Yilma is the export manager Ethiopia Ethiopia Amharic text – Amharic is the language taught in most schools, and the official government language in Ethiopia. English is widespread too. Ethiopia Ethiopia Loaded coffee truck – There was little coffee being processed since it is so early in the crop at this time. There were a couple loaded trucks hanging around but the coffee in them looked like past crop dry-processed stuff. Ethiopia Ethiopia Tim shows ’em – Tim talks, as he is wont to do … a lot. Ethiopia Ethiopia Tim, Mahabub and Yilma at Mullege – Mahabub responds… Ethiopia Ethiopia Mullege – Mullege is a big coffee exporter. This image of their plant does not do it much justice… and this is not their only dry mill in Addis – they have another one too. Ethiopia Ethiopia Hailu Benti, Coffee Cupper – Hailu has cupped for 23 years, and works both at Mullege, and a bit at Oromia. Ethiopia Ethiopia Cupping Room time – Probats – So it was time to cup some lots, mostly older crop type samples. They roast on new gas burner Probats, a mere $12,000 bucks each, or $6,000 per barrel. Ethiopia Ethiopia Nice Mahlkonig/Probat Mills – They have some beautiful Mahlkonig mills, sold with Probat labels on them. Ethiopia Ethiopia Sample Huller – Here’s a nice electric huller, to shell the parchment samples into green bean form. It’s good to remember that when you are cupping samples, they are usually pulled from parchment lots, so they are not yet density sorted and screened. Ethiopia Ethiopia Probat 4 Barrel Roaster – In the corner, a nice old Probat 4 barrel, not being used. Ethiopia Ethiopia Thompson, Tim and Mahabub – We looked at 9 samples, all 2006-2007 crop, just to discuss them. There was a nice Kochere district Yirga Chefe, but some samples were understandably flat tasting, and one was overly baggy, Ethiopia Ethiopia Thompson Owen, cupping at Mullege, Addis – Cupping in my swell new $3 Yemeni haircut. Ethiopia Ethiopia Just a pretty picture … – of the cupping bowls Ethiopia Ethiopia Just another pretty picture … – of the same damn cupping bowls Ethiopia Ethiopia Giant Coke Bottles… – It seems that Ethiopia was formerly occupied by a giant race, evidenced by the huge Coke bottles they left laying around the country. Since Addis is actually quite a new city (founded in the 1880’s, it means “New Flower”) we can assume that Coke has ben popular in Ethiopia for centries before it was invented in the US. Ethiopia Ethiopia lion bus logo – So we were off again, this time to cup at IPS. On the way, the very cool logo on the orange buses which crowd the Addis streets. Ethiopia Ethiopia That woman is everywhere … – It’s funny how, even in a large city of 4 million, you see the same people over and over. You’ll know what I am referring to later… Ethiopia Ethiopia More Giant Coke Bottles – An older specimen of huge ancestral Coke. Ethiopia Ethiopia Map of IPS Project Areas – These are some of the areas where IPS has coffee mills in Ethiopia. Mills are in Golocha, Gedeo area of Yirga Chefe, Yirga Alem, Sidamo and Djimma at Bokewako. They have a nice Amaro natural Yirga Chefe, and we bought Golocha Sole natural from them this past year. Ethiopia Ethiopia Getacho W. Mariam of IPS, Addis – So it was time to hang out at IPS, another coffee exporter who has a different take on Ethiopia coffee. They are not a NGO, but they act like it, with a strong social program tied to their mission to improve coffee, particularily in the Golocha region. Getacho is one of the 5 board members. Ethiopia Ethiopia Getacho at the cupping table – It seems that the board members all cup here, a great thing. Golocha coffee was my favorite from last year. Golocha has 11 coffee “belts” Golocha Sole and Golocha Mine being the main ones IPS focuses on. Within these there are townships such as Mahajinga, Socuru and Kombi that each have different cup character. Ethiopia Ethiopia Backup roaster – the iRoast – Their roaster broke, but luckily they ahd an iRoast around to produce a few samples for us to cup. Ethiopia Ethiopia Teklu W. Gabriel of IPS Coffee – Teklu is another of the board members at IPS, and also their main coffee quality person. He has a very articulate view of their mission, which goes far beyond improving the cup quality, but improving the small producers quality of life in as much as they are willing to work hard and improve their coffee. Ethiopia Ethiopia Teklu W. Gabriel of IPS Coffee – Ethiopia Ethiopia Teklu and Stsegay at IPS Coffee lab – Teklu and the cupping room assistant Stsegay. We only had a few new crop samples to cup, all from the Golocha area, which is basically an extention of Harar, but closer to Addis. Ethiopia Ethiopia IPS Big Shots – The 5 stakeholders in IPS. It’s nice to see a woman in there! IPS has a lot of different coffees and whittles down regions into very small districts, and ultimately to townships. Ethiopia Ethiopia Micro Truck. – Back to the streets of Addis. I lve the cars here, especially all the micro vans and trucks such as this. They would never pass safety tests for use in the US, methinks. Ethiopia Ethiopia Eucalyptus – Just as they use bamboo in modern construction in Asia, as scaffolding and such, they use skinny little Eucalyptus logs here. Ethiopia Ethiopia evangelical – In case HE is looking down, a homemade window sticker affirming that God kicks butt! Now, whuy would God need this little affirmation, I don’t know…. Ethiopia Ethiopia It looks like a Scout but … – There are an amazing amount of cool 4WD vehicles here. This one is tought for me to figure, since it definitely was not a US import. Is it a Nissan-Datsun, odd Toyota, Land Rover? You tell me. Ethiopia Ethiopia no brand names – Sure, they look like Adidas and Nikes, but rest assured they aren’t. The market in Addis is full of great knock-off clothing. Ethiopia Ethiopia 
Chiles and Yams – Chiles and Yams: what a combination Ethiopia Ethiopia Array of Spices – There’s a pretty good selection of spices available, and all very fresh. Ethiopia Ethiopia The Spice Market – Like a lot of big markets, there are areas for each type of commodity. This is “spice alley” at the Addis market. Ethiopia Ethiopia Later that day, the market in Addis – Later on, Gatacho was kind enough to take me and another gringo to the market. The market in Addis is a must-see! Ethiopia Ethiopia All Types – There are vendors with shops and others that just seem to throw down some cardboard and sell their stuff. Ethiopia Ethiopia Not seen in Yemen – There is little alcohol to be found in Yemen, but since Ethiopia is as much Islamic as it is Coptic Catholic, you see more drunkeness and such. Ethiopia Ethiopia Lottery Tickets – Try your luck at the Ethiopian Lottery. Ethiopia Ethiopia Omnipresent white lady – As I mentioned, everywhere you go you see these extremely white plastic ladies in Addis, especially in the market. Ethiopia Ethiopia Super Scarey – Oversized doll manequin … not sure that would sell many dresses in the US. Ethiopia Ethiopia Fashions galore – There are some interesting selections of dresses and such. Not sure Maria would ever wear these if I bought them… Ethiopia Ethiopia Bric a Brac – Get away from the tourist items, and you won’t see another Westerner for a long time. This section of the market is real miscellany. Ethiopia Ethiopia More Misc. – Just a nice picture. Ethiopia Ethiopia flip flops and tea – intersting combination of flip flops and tea Ethiopia Ethiopia Containers R Us – All types of tubs Ethiopia Ethiopia gee, that’s a swell hat – Excellent hat for pinheads like me. Ethiopia Ethiopia you tell me… – It’s a fat goat, at the market in Addis, so I am sure it is on it’s last legs, wisely using the time to relax. Ethiopia Ethiopia Mule Train – Mules used in rural and urban settings for hauling Ethiopia Ethiopia 
Vegetable ladies – Fresh salad fixin’s Ethiopia Ethiopia Typical market street – Typical market street in Addis Ethiopia Ethiopia Tellytubies bisquits – I don’t think this is offical merchandise. Ethiopia Ethiopia Beer fixin’s – These are ingredients for making home made Ethiopian beer. Ethiopia Ethiopia Superior Scissor Matches – Impregnated? Ethiopia Ethiopia Fiat Taxis – Pushing through the crowds, an occasional taxi Ethiopia Ethiopia Merchants – merchants in Addis market Ethiopia Ethiopia Overloaded – Don’t think this would make it under a freeway overpass in the US. Ethiopia Ethiopia The source – …And here’s where they come from. Ethiopia Ethiopia hair colors – She come with red hair, blue hair, and other various colors. Ethiopia Ethiopia Heavy Loads – People used in rural and urban setting for hauling heavy loads. Ethiopia Ethiopia Muslim salespeople, western fashions – Muslim salespeople, western fashions Ethiopia Ethiopia Loaded II – People used in rural and urban setting for hauling heavy loads. Ethiopia Ethiopia The onion stand – onion and garlic specialists Ethiopia Ethiopia Spice Row – at the market in Addis – Spice Row – at the market in Addis Ethiopia Ethiopia Me and my veggies … – She wanted me to take a picture of her with her vegetables. They were indeed beautiful. Ethiopia Ethiopia Next days cupping … Trabocca – The next day I headed out solo to Trabocca. Ironically, it is in the same builing as the dentist where Tim had his tooth glued back ina couple days earlier. Ethiopia Ethiopia Sarah Negash – Sarah Negash roasts the coffee samples on a 2 barrel probat and sets up the cuppings. Ethiopia Ethiopia Coffee sample rack – Incoming coffee samples at Trabocca Ethiopia Ethiopia Abraham Begashaw – Abraham is the head of Trabocca’s Ethiopia office. He is an experienced cupper with 20 years of experience. Ethiopia Ethiopia In case your forget … – The custom Trabocca cups are there to remind you where you’re at. Ethiopia Ethiopia Abraham breaks the crust – Breaking the crust to judge the aromatics. Ethiopia Ethiopia Abraham Begashaw – Ethiopia Ethiopia Last round – That’s me going around the table the last time to judge flavor as the cup cools. These were some very nice coffees, including a range of new crop Yirga Chefe, Limu and Sidamo coffees. Ethiopia Ethiopia On a mission … – After leaving the Trabocca office, we followed this truck to … Ethiopia Ethiopia More Giant Cokes – … more giant Cokes… Ethiopia Ethiopia
