Ethiopia - Zema

REGION: Keffa
PRODUCER: Dinkalem Ademe
PROCESS: Washed
VARIETY: Mixed
ELEVATION: 1800-2000 MASL
TASTING NOTES: Lemon pastry, melon, tart apple

Producer Story

Zema is an Amharic word meaning “melody” or “sacred song,” a name chosen to honor the deep connection to music shared by many of the people who helped bring this coffee to life. Representing “The Song of Ethiopia,” Zema is a single-farm, single-harvest coffee created through a close collaboration between producer Dinkalem and our partners at Swift.

Swift has worked with Dinkalem and his farms since 2017, building a relationship defined by consistency and shared attention to quality. For this special lot, Swift’s Ethiopian coordinator, Aron, personally oversaw its production, transportation, and processing from origin through export.

Dinkalem and his wife, Sofiya, are deeply invested in both their land and the surrounding community. Their farm encompasses approximately 400 hectares, much of it covered by the renowned forests of Keffa, with around 40 hectares dedicated to coffee. Old and newly planted coffee trees grow together across the property as Dinkalem works toward a thoughtful, gradual renewal of the farm.

The Process

Zema is produced as a single-farm, single-harvest lot, allowing the coffee to represent a specific place and moment in Dinkalem’s production. Close oversight throughout its journey helps maintain the integrity and traceability of the coffee from the farm through final processing.

That same long-term perspective extends to the future of the farm. Rather than replacing its older coffee trees all at once, Dinkalem plans to gradually introduce new plantings while carefully stewarding the surrounding land. He also hopes to develop a robust outgrower program, extending opportunities beyond the farm by creating additional economic value for neighboring producers and their families.

The Cup

Zema is a coffee rooted in relationships: between producer and partner, farm and forest, tradition and the generations still to come. Its single-farm, single-harvest production offers a focused expression of Dinkalem’s work and the landscape of Keffa.

Like the melody behind its name, Zema brings these individual elements together into one expression—a celebration of Ethiopian coffee, the people behind it, and the relationships that sustain it.