Limmu Kossa
Full, sweet aromas like black tea and passion fruit. Deep sweetness like melon and strawberry jam. Smooth, creamy body like hazelnut ice cream.
Limmu Kossa
Abba Ollie, or “He who uplifts”: Gidey Berhe Retta’s title awarded by the local community for his supporting and qualitative work.
The Ethiopian coffee market has been a closed entity for years, making direct trade and traceability very difficult. When the market got opened in March 2017, we got in touch with Limmu Kossa, a private coffee estate in Jimma, Ethiopia. The owner, Gidey Berhe Retta, gets called Abba Ollie, or He Who Uplifts, by the local community. The structure of his farm resembles that of some of our other projects: he produces great quality privately, and uses this experience not just for himself, but also to support the local community. He provides health care and schooling and actively engages other farmers in the world of specialty coffee, similarly to Juan Pablo Lasso Argote and the Churupampa family.
The story
Coffee roasters have been buying Ethiopian green coffee through big importers for years; this was most convenient, but the local market also demanded it. All coffee was forced to be sold through the central exchange in Addis Ababa. This made it difficult to create direct relationships with producers, since this demands a lot of personal attention and transparent sales.
By chance, a partner of ours got in contact with a representative of Limmu Kossa, a privately owned coffee estate in the Jimma region of Ethiopia. The owner, Gidey Berhe Retta, is locally called “Abba Ollie”, or “He Who Uplifts”, due to his passion, integrity and extensive social work. He supports surrounding farmers by offering them higher prices and teaching them about agro-forestry and quality coffee.
Limmu Kossa has been doing great over the years, but it has always been difficult for them to consistently sell their coffee to the specialty industry. With our network, both in consuming countries and in other origins, we are trying to create more awareness of this beautiful work ethic. This quality and dedication can serve as an example to farmers in other regions or countries.
Agroforestry
Limmu Kossa is taking agroforestry extremely serious. Galeh, the town or micro-region, is basically a thinned out subtropical forest in which many tree varieties are native only to Ethiopia. Abba Ollie’s right hand, Mr. Desta, is the farm manager and certified agroforestry expert. He creates closed loop fertiliser made from plant, wood and fruit material exclusively from the Galeh estate. The six native varieties of which this coffee consists, and suited to these particular soil types and altitudes. Every shrub is documented to ensure natural balance and diversity. This practice is a beautiful example that we can use as a benchmark for other producers.
Key achievements
2018: met producers at World of Coffee in Instagram to discuss their work ethic and quality programmes. Imported first natural microlot.
Thank you
Because of the controlled way of sales through a closed market, Ethiopian coffee tends to be bought through big wholesalers based on cup quality. Buying this coffee supports a more sustainable approach: buying based on work ethic and long-term goals. We are very much looking forward to our collaboration with the Limmu Kossa estate and to use this as an example for other farmers.
Additional information
| Weight | N/A |
|---|---|
| Region | Galeh, Jimma, Oromia, Ethiopia |
| Altitude | 1,840 – 2,130 m.a.s.l. |
| Variety | Local varieties 74165, 75227, 74140, 74110, 74112 and 5227 |
| Processing | Natural, dried on raised beds |
| Flavour | Full, sweet aromas like black tea and passion fruit. Deep sweetness like melon and strawberry jam. Smooth, creamy body like hazelnut ice cream |
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Heerlijk in de v60!