In stark contrast with today, when I first went to Ethiopia in December 2004 it was a country fairly unknown to seekers of specialty coffee. Waking up in a rather dilapidated hotel, I remember I noticed that our off-road vehicle had a punctured tyre, so I called the driver to see to it.

Shortly afterwards, while I was enjoying the landscape of a world immersed in coffee, in the bracing cold morning typical of Sidamo and Yrgacheffe, our guide arrived: Abdallah Bagersh, Yemeni by origin and Ethiopian from three generations of coffee vendors and tasters. When asked where our off-road vehicle was, I tried to explain in my bad English. After a few unsuccessful attempts, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed in Italian “gommista!!” (tyre shop). I discovered then that, although Italy had colonised Ethiopia for only a few years and quite badly, the Amharic language had absorbed certain Italian words, especially those related to cars, underwear and table football, all items that were introduced during the colonisation period!

Since we first met in 2004, we have established a great relationship of mutual respect. In that occasion, while tasting coffee together with Abdullah, we thought of creating a special selection of Sidamo coffees, made specially for us.

Once the small farmers have harvested their coffee, they deliver it to the “washing stations”, where the beans are wet processed. The coffee is then sent, still wrapped in parchment, to daily auctions organised by the government, where exporters must select and buy the quantities they need. Soon after that, the coffee bought by Adullah is further selected in order to obtain our special selection.