Ethiopia Getachew Zekele Hambela

Tasting Notes: Stone Fruit, Pomegranate, Brown Sugar

Origin: Ethiopia

Region: South Guji

Farm: ~450 registered outgrowers

Process: Washed

Variety: 74110, 74158

Elevation: 2400 masl

Importer: Crop 2 Cup

This coffee comes to us from Getachew Zekele's washing station located on his farm in Guji. It is one of two coffees we have at the moment from Zekele and includes coffees from producers around the Hambela district. This one is roasted a tiny bit further. In the cup we taste juicy stone fruit and pomegranate with a brown sugar-like sweetness that gives the cup a bit more mouthfeel and body than the microlot.

Before he became one of Guji’s most precise producers, Getachew Zekele was an accountant - a literal bean counter. After selling a property in Addis Ababa in 2008, he used the proceeds to buy land in Shakisso and began planting coffee. By 2009 he was harvesting his own crop, collecting cherry from neighbors, and selling through the ECX.

In 2016 he formalized Dimtu PLC, pairing his own farm (Tero Farm) with a washing station and later a dry mill to oversee quality from cherry to export. What distinguishes Dimtu from most private washing stations is the structure of its outgrower program. Rather than simply purchasing cherry, Getachew’s team registers and maps every contributing farm, trains each producer in agronomy and processing, and maintains meticulous records through a dedicated outgrower engagement office. Participating farmers receive pre-harvest financing, seedlings, and improved access to materials and are rewarded with premiums tied directly to quality.

This lot consists of coffee from approximately 450 contributing producers whose cherry was delivered to Zekele's washing station for processing and export.