Mulugeta Tsige
Our first ever direct Ethiopian microlot import — and what a debut. This vibrant, juicy natural lot bursts with sweet berries and tropical fruit, and comes to us through a new partnership with Mulugeta Tsige Exporters, a family-run business in Yirgacheffe. Founder Mulugeta grew up on his family’s coffee farm before dedicating years to supporting Ethiopian cooperatives. Today, with his own export licence and washing station, his focus is producing high-quality coffees while ensuring the farmers he works with are fairly rewarded.
This is also the first time Mulugeta Tsige’s coffee has ever been exported to the UK. We first connected earlier this year, quickly realising how closely our values aligned when it comes to working directly with producers. After a few calls and a round of harvest samples, we were sold — literally. We chose two microlots to bring over, with this one grown at 2,100–2,300 MASL by a group of smallholder producers who deliver ripe cherries to Mulugeta’s washing station in Gerse, Yirgacheffe.
This lot is made up of three varieties:
- 74110 and 74158 – JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Center) selections from the Metu Bishari forest in 1974, chosen for their quality cup, high yields, and resistance to disease. They’ve since become some of Ethiopia’s most widely planted varieties.
- Kurume – an indigenous landrace variety, native to Yirgacheffe and Guji, known for its floral, citrus-driven cup profile.
The coffee is hand-picked according to strict ripeness criteria, then floated at the washing station to remove under-ripe or damaged cherries. It’s dried as whole cherries on raised beds for 15–20 days (depending on weather) before final sorting. This lot is graded Grade 1 — the highest grade in Ethiopia — meaning the largest screen size and minimal defects.
Roastery
Conscious Coffee
Origins
Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
Process
Natural