Cape Town coffee-lovers with keen taste buds may already know that if roasters as discerning as Leigh and Winston from Cedar release not one, and not just two, but three Ethiopian coffees from the same producer, then these are special coffees. Located throughout Bensa, within the Sidama region, Alo Coffees has a network of highly-specialised coffee processing stations. Smallholder farmers at Alo Village handpick only the cherries with optimal levels of ripeness, for their signature floral aromas and fruity complexity. They are then meticulously sorted, graded and processed at Alo Coffees’ facilities.

After tasting and enjoying the washed and natural offerings from Cedar’s earlier Faficho village lots, we are excited for this opportunity for you to taste the anaerobically processed, special release coffee which rounds off Cedar’s lots from Alo. The Ethiopia Mosto Anaerobic Natural was grown in Alo Village and processed with an experimental ‘mosto’ (juice) fermentation. You can read a bit more about the Alo Coffee lots which became Cedar’s first Ethiopian releases, and processing methods in their notes below.

This is a landmark coffee for the relationship between our friends at Cedar, and Alo’s founder, Tamiru Tadesse. With natural mosto anaerobic processing, this lot celebrates the unique terroir of the Bensa region, as well as Tamiru’s dedication and innovation.

Phaedon's tasting notes

This coffee feels like an appropriate one to end the year with, for our friends at Cedar, and for South African coffee lovers. 2025 has been a great year for African specialty coffee in South Africa, at least in my eyes, and it feels appropriate for it to culminate in this lot. I loved the previous Faficho lots, but this is truly something special.

In the cup, I found an incredible medley of fruit flavours, primarily of the citrus and stone variety, and somewhat depending on the brew. I loved how it revealed something unique with each method I tried. While I found the coffee pleasantly bright in all methods, in paper and cloth-filtered brews, the profile was more delicate and clean, and revealed some tea-like notes of the sort you might find in a high-quality washed lot. In less filtered methods like a French press, I found it equally delicious but with a more fermented flavour, and a bit of that anaerobic funk.

Cedar’s notes

“On filter, we tasted bright, juicy apricot with a clean, refreshing sweetness. As an espresso, the cup shifted into a deeper sweetness with a concentrated citrus jam character. When paired with milk, the flavours transformed completely, developing into a creamy toffee yoghurt finish.”

• Cup Profile: Juicy Apricot, Citrus Jam, Toffee Yoghurt

Coffee details from Cedar

“We first encountered Alo Coffee on our cupping table back in our very first year at Cedar. At the time, we were a much smaller company and couldn’t yet commit to purchasing those lots, but even then, we knew that what Tamiru Tadesse was producing at Alo was something special. Fast forward to today and this coffee feels like a full-circle moment; not only is it our first pallet of Ethiopian lots, but it’s also a privilege to finally showcase Alo Coffee’s work in our portfolio.

“Alo Coffee, founded by Tamiru Tadesse and his wife Messi in Bensa, Sidama, has become known for producing high-elevation coffees that celebrate Sidama’s unique terroir. They have previously won Cup of Excellence for one of their lots back in 2021. Tamiru works closely with smallholder farmers, emphasizing careful cherry selection, traceability, and innovative processing methods that bring out clarity and sweetness in the cup. They mainly work with the JARC 74158 variety: a selection developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center for its excellent cup quality, disease resistance, and adaptability to high altitudes. Its slow cherry maturation produces dense beans with layered fruit complexity and bright, clean acidity.

“We chose this lot as our next Special Release simply because of how uniquely complex and expressive it is, driven largely by its experimental mosto anaerobic natural process. Only fully ripe, high-Brix cherries are selected for this lot. As the first batches of cherries begin fermenting, the naturally released juice (mosto) is collected and added back into sealed, oxygen-free fermentation tanks. This boosts fermentation activity and intensifies fruit development without pushing the coffee into over-fermented territory. The cherries rest in anaerobic conditions for 96 hours before being moved to raised African beds, where they dry slowly over 15–25 days with frequent turning to maintain clarity. The result is a coffee that combines the sweetness of a natural with the precision and depth of controlled fermentation.”

• Farm/Producer: Alo Village, Alo Main Station, Tamiru Tadesse
• Region: Sidama, Bensa
• Country: Ethiopia
• Process: Natural Mosto Anaerobic
• Altitude: 2,250 - 2,480 masl
• Variety: JARC 74158