Ethiopia is believed to be the birthplace of coffee and, to many coffee enthusiasts, the origin of some of the African continent’s best-tasting coffee. With this in mind, Cedar Coffee has unveiled its fourth Ethiopian lot in just a few short months. We are very excited for this opportunity to taste a Honey process alternative to Cedar’s three previous natural, washed and anaerobic lots from Alo Village. If you want to learn more about how this coffee was processed, look for Cedar’s detailed notes on the Honey process below.

Located throughout the district (Woreda) of Bensa, within Ethiopia’s Sidama region, Alo Coffees has a network of highly-specialised coffee processing stations. Named after the main site at Alo village (kebele), Alo Coffees, and its founder Tamiru Tadesse, seeks to uplift both the quality of coffee, and the quality of life for its producers. Smallholder farmers who cultivate coffee nearby handpick cherries at optimal levels of ripeness to highlight signature floral aromas and fruity flavours. Cherries are then meticulously sorted, graded, and delivered to Alo Coffees’ advanced facilities for processing.

This lot of Ethiopian coffee is an heirloom variety of Arabica, harvested from descendant trees originally cultivated by the Jimma Agricultural Centre, or JARC, back in the 1970s. These JARC coffees were initially favoured for their disease-resistant properties but today, they are enjoyed by the specialty coffee industry for their distinctive flavour notes.

Phaedon's tasting notes

I haven't tasted many Ethiopian honeys; most people haven't. For decades, washed coffees dominated the exports but in recent years, we've also enjoyed more specialty naturals, but Honeys, those are still fairly rare, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. What I got, is actually what the proponents of honey-processing would have told me to expect: a nice balance between the qualities of a washed coffee and those of a natural.

Ethiopian washed coffees are known for their acidity and floral aromas, and those qualities are definitely discernible, and enjoyable, in this coffee. With natural processes, those characteristics are often overshadowed by big bodies and sweetness but with this lot, everything is in balance and harmony. You have those archetypal Ethiopian characteristics to enjoy, but also a little more of that sweet, full-bodied oomph that you might get from a natural (though perhaps not quite as much). It's a lovely coffee, particularly in a siphon.

Cedar’s notes

“In the cup, this coffee shows a vibrant red plum character on filter, with clarity and gentle sweetness. On espresso, the profile deepens into a mix of dried fruits, think mango, apricot, and soft prune notes. When paired with milk, the coffee becomes richer, finishing with a smooth English toffee sweetness.”

• Cup profile: Red Plum, Dried Fruits, English Toffee

Coffee details from Cedar

“This lot is processed using the honey method, where ripe cherries are carefully depulped while leaving the mucilage intact. The coffee is then slow-dried for 10–14 days on raised African beds under moderate sunlight. During this time, the remaining sugars in the mucilage are gradually absorbed into the bean, contributing to a rounded sweetness and added depth in the cup.”

• Farm: Alo Village
• Producer: Alo Main Station,
• Owner: Tamiru Tadesse
• Region: Ethiopia, Sidama, Bensa
• Country: Ethiopia
• Process: Honey
• Altitude: 2250 - 2480 masl
• Variety: JARC 74158