Moplaco
This month we’re welcoming coffees from our long term Ethiopian partners, Moplaco. Moplaco was founded in 1972, by Yannis Georgalis, father of the current owner, our partner Heleanna. Both of this month’s coffees come from Moplaco, from two of their stations in rural Ethiopia,
Nansebo and Sheka.
Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, coffee still grows semi-wild, and in some cases completely wild. Apart from some regions of neighbouring South Sudan, Ethiopia is the only country in which coffee is found growing in this way, due to its status as the genetic birthplace of arabica coffee. This means in many regions, small producers still harvest cherries from wild coffee trees growing in high altitude humid forests, especially around Ethiopia’s famous Great Rift Valley.
Forest coffee makes up a great deal of Ethiopia’s yearly output, so this is a hugely important method of production, and part of what makes Ethiopian coffee so unique. Deforestation is threatening many of coffee’s iconic homes in Ethiopia, leading to dwindling yields and loss of biodiversity; significant price fluctuations over the past decade have led many farmers to replace coffee with fast growing eucalyptus, an incredibly demanding crop in terms of both water and nutrient usage.
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Throughout these endemic systems, a much higher level of biodiversity is maintained than in modern coffee production in much of the rest of the world. This is partly due to the forest system, and partly down to the genetic diversity of the coffee plants themselves. There are thousands of ‘heirloom’ varieties growing in Ethiopia; all descended from wild cross pollination between species derived from the original Arabica trees. This biodiversity leads to hardier coffee plants, which don’t need to be artificially fertilised. This means that 95% of coffee production in Ethiopia is organic, although most small farmers and mills can’t afford to pay for certification, so can’t label their coffee as such.
The absence of monoculture in the Ethiopian coffee lands also means plants are much less susceptible to the decimating effects of diseases such as leaf rust that have ripped through other producing countries. Maintaining these systems is important, both within the coffee industry, and in terms of wider biodiversity and sustainability concerns. Our primary partners in Ethiopia, Moplaco, have made it their mission to inform of the destruction of these systems, and to continue supporting the communities they work with in order to make coffee a profitable and attractive business for smallholder farmers.
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Moplaco
Moplaco was founded in 1972, by Yannis Georgalis. They established themselves in the town of Dire Dawa, to the north east of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Crucially, Dire Dawa is located on the edge of the iconic Ethiopian region of Harrar, and is home to the region’s largest ECX coffee delivery centre. Harrar produces a markedly different expression of Ethiopian coffee when compared to the regions further south surrounding the Great Rift Valley.
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Yannis’ daughter Heleanna took over Moplaco 12 years ago, leading the company’s expansion into the south, and focussing on speciality coffee. The company invested in their facility in Addis Ababa, actually downsizing from their commercial days, allowing them to mill coffees from all over Ethiopia while maintaining traceability. The previous second warehouse has been converted into a shared creative space, where artisans work with textiles, ceramics and more, alongside a small coffee shop. The Georgalis family take their responsibility to the community seriously, giving back to the area of Addis they have called home for so long.
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Moplaco own processing stations in some of the most well known regions of Ethiopia; Yirgacheffe, Guji, Sidamo, where processing is carried out and agronomic advice is given to the smallholder farmers who deliver cherry. In recent years, Moplaco purchased the Logita processing station near the town of Bensa, in the North-East of the famous Sidamo region, and took over a farm in the far west of the country, near Sheka. Moplaco also work with neighbouring mills, assisting them with finance and quality work in order to secure a consistent supply of excellent coffee. We are proud to be involved with Heleanna’s work, an inspirational woman blazing a trail for a new level of speciality coffee in Ethiopia.
Nansebo
This washed lot has a ripe stone fruit character, lifted by a bright acidity and deep floral aromas.
This washed coffee was produced at the Moplaco’s partner station, Bulga Lemi, named for the village of Bulga where the cherries are collected. Bulga lies in the Nansebo district, a short drive north of the town of the same name, under the cover of the Harenna forest.
Sheka
Long drying time results in a softness and depth in the cup, softening the kiwi notes we often find in Sheka lots into ripe tropical fruit, while maintaining the distinctly complex florals.
Carefully produced cherries from the Kawo Kanin farm is taken to Moplaco’s Sheka mill to be processed. This station is Moplaco’s newest, and has mainly produced natural and honey coffees so far, as the large fermentation tanks required to produce washed coffees were only completed in 2022.
Honey coffees have been exported from Sheka several times now, and are produced using a well-defined protocol. Cherries are carefully selected before de-pulping using a small hand cranked de-pulper. The coffee is then dried on raised beds under shade. Plastic covers are often used, and the drying takes slightly longer than it would in much of Ethiopia due to frequent rains and cool temperatures during harvest.
Earlier this year, we visited Ethiopia, and Sheka. What that experience was like, photographer Paw Gissel has captured in the feature that you can read by following the link below.
We’re excited to continue our work with Heleanna, and are currently preparing our visit to select our 2025 coffees. The harvest has started early in Ethiopia this year, with some lots already starting to become available to cup as type samples. We look forward to our visit, always a highlight of our time in Addis, with several tables of excellent and varied profiles from across Heleanna’s project.
