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Who Makes The
BEST COFFEE
Editorial sacred-geometry illustration for Ethiopia Alaka Natural, not a photograph of this coffee or its packaging

Editorial illustration · not a coffee photograph

Editorial sacred-geometry artwork for Ethiopia Alaka Natural; not a documentary photograph

Editorial illustration

Editorial sacred-geometry artwork for Ethiopia Alaka Natural; not a documentary photograph

Editorial illustration

Editorial sacred-geometry artwork for Ethiopia Alaka Natural; not a documentary photograph

Editorial illustration

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Ethiopia Alaka Natural

Roasted by Intelligentsia CoffeeRoaster's website
TRADITIONAL PROCESS
TagsEthiopiaWest Guji Zone, OromiaLocal heirloom varietiesNaturalBlackberryPlumArabicaSingle originHambela Alaka washing stationAlaka Farmers AssociationIntelligentsia CoffeeOwned by Peet's Coffee (JAB Holding Company)
🇪🇹EthiopiaNatural
Brand
Intelligentsia Coffee
Who owns the brand
A large corporation — Peet's Coffee (JAB Holding Company)
Roaster website
Visit website
Country
🇪🇹Ethiopia
Region
West Guji Zone, Oromia
Town
Guji
Farm / Station
Hambela Alaka washing station
Farmer / Producer
Alaka Farmers Association
Species
Arabica
Type
Single origin
Grade
Not specified
Variety
Local heirloom varieties
Process
Roast
—
Tasting notes
Blackberry, Plum, Tangerine
Fermentation
—
Drying
Raised Bed
Product page
Roaster's site
Date reviewed
—
Why some details are blank
  • altitude mThe source gives a 1,900–2,200 m range; a single point value would be misleading.
  • fermentationThe current product page does not disclose fermentation parameters.
  • drying durationTwo to three weeks is documented for a 2024 release, not confirmed for the current 2025–2026 harvest.
  • variety detailThe exact cultivars and proportions within the listed local heirloom varieties are not disclosed.
  • roast dateRoast date is package-specific and not available from the product page.
Spotted an error? Report a correction →
The transparency chain

FROM THE BAG
BACK TO THE LAND.

Every link we could verify, traced in one place. Follow the chain as far as it goes — when the industry doesn't disclose a link, we say so instead of guessing.

  1. 01
    The name on the bag
    Ethiopia Alaka Natural
  2. 02
    The brand
    Intelligentsia Coffee
  3. 03
    The roaster
    Intelligentsia Coffee
  4. 04
    The variety
    Local heirloom varieties
  5. 05
    The farm
    Hambela Alaka washing station
  6. 06
    The farmer
    Alaka Farmers Association
  7. 07
    The region
    West Guji Zone, Oromia
  8. 08
    The country
    🇪🇹Ethiopia
From the producer

The coffee is grown by smallholder members of the Alaka Farmers Association and processed at the Hambela Alaka washing station. The Adinew family-led METAD organization manages the processing, ensuring meticulous sorting and drying of the cherries.

From the roaster

Intelligentsia highlights this lot as a prime example of natural processing, which preserves the complex and unique character of Ethiopian coffee. They emphasize the meticulous attention to detail provided by their partners at METAD.

Why this coffee is noteworthy

This coffee represents a high-quality natural process selection from the West Guji Zone, highlighting the distinct fruit-forward profile characteristic of Ethiopian heirloom varieties. It is produced through a long-standing partnership with METAD and the Adinew family.

The honest process breakdown

WHAT DID THEY ACTUALLY
DO TO THIS COFFEE?

01
Selective preparation

The current product page says harvested cherries are carefully sorted at METAD’s Hambela Alaka station.

02
Natural processing

The coffee dries with the fruit intact on raised beds. A 2024 story describes two to three weeks of drying for that earlier release; this duration is not assumed for the 2025–2026 harvest.

What was added?

No added fruit, flavoring, or inoculant is disclosed.

What wasn't added?

The exact fermentation parameters and current-release drying duration are not published.

Why it matters

Drying the intact fruit is the defining natural-process step, but harvest-specific timing can affect cup expression and is kept separate from older release documentation.

What you might taste

The roaster lists blackberry, plum, and tangerine.

Sources for these process claims
  • · https://intelligentsia.com/products/ethiopia-metad-alaka-natural
  • · https://www.intelligentsia.com/blogs/stories/ethiopia-alaka-natural
Coffee profile

In the database. Not tasted. Not scored.

This coffee is in our database because we can reliably document it — but we haven't tasted and scored it yet, and we never publish a score we haven't earned.

Outside reviews and internet discussion — is kept clearly separate from our own review. When we taste it, our full review appears here.

The internet pulse

What the internet is saying about this coffee

Research complete — no qualifying reviews yet

Our research pipeline scanned public reviews, videos, forums and discussions for this coffee (last pass 2026-10-25) and found no independent review of this exact release that meets our verification standards. When qualifying sources appear, they'll be published here.

What we found

Non-exact, seller, directory, generic-roaster, different-release, duplicate, and older-release sources were excluded. No qualifying independent exact-release review remains.

Until then, meet the people behind it:

Meet the farm: Hambela Alaka washing station →Meet the farmer: Alaka Farmers Association →
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