Ethiopia · Sidamo ALO Hatessa NaturalCoffee Bean Intro:

Flavor: Magnolia, citrus, passion fruit, pineapple, mango, fermentation notes

What does Alo mean?

Alo Coffee PLC is a coffee trading company from Ethiopia, founded in 2020, primarily responsible for exporting coffee from the Bensa region, thus also functioning as a green bean brand.

In the second year of its establishment, its founder, Tamiru Tadesse Tesema, participated in the 2021 COE competition with beans grown and processed in Alo Village, winning first place (anaerobic natural 74165) and fifth place (natural 74158). Since then, Alo Coffee and Alo Village have gained significant recognition in the coffee community, catching the attention of countless coffee enthusiasts.

Where is Alo Village located?

Alo Village is situated in the northeastern part of the Sidamo region, on the highest slope of Bensa Town (Bensa Woreda). The Bensa area is known for its unique geographical advantages, with altitudes ranging from 1800 to 2300 meters. Compared to many classic Ethiopian coffee-growing regions, many coffee trees in Bensa are grown at altitudes between 2200 and 2350 meters, with the renowned Alo Village being the standout, reaching an elevation of 2400 meters.

As mentioned in previous articles by Front Street, for specialty coffee, the higher the planting altitude, the slower the growth of coffee cherries, resulting in later harvesting times compared to other regions. Consequently, the green beans have higher density and form a more complex and intense aroma structure. On the other hand, due to the high altitude, the drying time of coffee cherries is extended, and the post-harvest fermentation process occurs at relatively low temperatures, leading to more pronounced "floral and fruity aromas."

The man behind Alo Coffee

As a native of Bensa, Tamiru was born in Alo Village. He studied engineering in university, taught at the university for two years after graduation, and has since been involved in the specialty coffee industry. In 2020, after seeing his fellow villagers from Bensa Town win awards at COE, he realized the immense potential of the specialty coffee produced in this land. However, due to small-scale production and backward conditions among farmers, it was difficult to commercialize in the market. He then resolved to promote the high-quality "taste of Bensa" to the world and founded his own company, Alo Coffee.

Tamiru first obtained his Q-grader certification. Leveraging his understanding of coffee cultivation and production in his hometown of Bensa, as well as years of experience in green bean export trade, he began to systematically analyze the production, sales, and quality of the region from scratch. He also conducted an analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing Ethiopian specialty coffee. Within just two years, Tamiru had already made Alo a frequent presence in many specialty coffee shops overseas.

In the same year of founding the brand, he established a green bean processing station in Alo Village, setting up a dedicated transportation system to collect and process coffee cherries from over 200 smallholder farms. He also provided professional training and technical support to these farmers, strictly controlling every detail of the green bean processing to ensure traceability at each stage. In his personal life, Tamiru is also a very caring person, using part of the company’s income to build schools and provide better educational conditions for local children.

Front Street believes that the reason Alo Coffee has gained such acclaim today is first and foremost due to Tamiru’s 100% passion for his hometown, the Bensa region, and secondly, his dedication to high-quality coffee and strict control over green bean quality.

Understanding Alo Coffee’s production footprint

Currently, Alo Coffee’s harvesting operations are mainly concentrated in the Bensa Town area of the Sidamo region. By village, in addition to the most well-known Alo Village, there are also batches from villages such as Bombe Village, Murago Village, and Bashiro Gute (belonging to Bona zuria Town), which are about 20 minutes apart by car.

Regarding the processing stations, Tamiru has also disclosed relevant information on the official website. Currently, Alo Coffee’s green bean processing areas include eight stations: Main (main processing station), Chilaka, Morke, Hatessa, Mewa, Hurro, Gute, and Chire Kalo.

According to research by Front Street, the main processing station (Main), Hatessa, and Chilaka are all located in Bensa, Morke is in Bura, Mewa and Hurro are in Nensebo, and Gute is in Bona Zuria. All processing stations are located near coffee farms to facilitate faster post-processing and ensure the freshness of the coffee cherries.

In Ethiopia, since many processing stations (washed processing plants) are primarily responsible for coffee cherries harvested from surrounding areas, the stations are usually named directly after the villages. For example, regulars on Front Street’s coffee list, such as Kochere and Banko Gotiti, are named after their respective villages. Similarly, Hatessa, Mewa, and Gute represent both a village and the name of a washing station.

In terms of planted varieties, Alo produces mostly 74-series varieties from the JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Center), including 74158, 74165, 74112, 74110, etc. The 2021 champion was COE74165, but currently, 74158 is the most common on the market. 。

The batch purchased by Front Street this time is 74158，from the Hatessa processing plant under Alo Coffee (marked as "Hatesa" on Google Maps), a small village located 23 kilometers south of Alo Village. The fresh coffee cherries were processed using traditional natural methods.

Natural Processing

Before the formal natural process, farmers first hand-pick fully ripe coffee cherries, transport them to the Hatessa processing station, and perform the first round of sorting. Then, before washing, the cherries are sorted again by observing the skin color to remove overripe or underripe cherries, ensuring uniform ripeness before sun-drying.

For natural coffee, farmers responsible for post-processing need to turn the cherries on the drying beds very frequently during the first three days because the coffee cherries have a high moisture content at this stage. If not turned in time, they are prone to mold and can develop unpleasant sour or rotten fruit flavors due to uneven heating. Throughout the process, the coffee cherries are spread in a very thin layer to ensure better ventilation and drying conditions. After 14-18 days, when the moisture content reaches the target level, they are bagged and sent to the warehouse.

Through comparison, Front Street observed that the green beans from the Hatessa natural batch are mostly smaller, with a round and mini appearance, sized around 10~12 mesh. For this bean, Front Street aimed to highlight its sweet, ripe fruit characteristics while preserving more floral notes. A medium-light roast was chosen to present the elegant profile of this Alo.