Niguse Jilo

Ethiopia Niguse Jilo is a single-farm natural from Halo Bariti village in Yirgacheffe, where Niguse Jilo grows the Kurume varietal at 2,150 masl. Kurume is one of Ethiopia’s many landrace varieties, native to the highlands rather than bred for yield.

Niguse inherited the farm from his family and has stayed committed to specialty coffee, which supports his ten children. He’s a lead farmer in the Bore Nageso farmer group, and in 2022 his coffee placed in the top 40 at Cup of Excellence. He works with Mecota Trading, an Ethiopian exporter set up in 2023 to group smallholder microlots into exportable quantities without losing track of who grew them. It’s a direct alternative to the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, where coffees are often pooled and their origins lost.

This is a natural process lot, dried whole in the cherry for a sweeter, fruit-forward cup. Expect notes of honey, parma violets, and nectarine.