Alo Village

Alo Village is located in the highlands of the Bensa district within the Sidama region of Ethiopia, an area celebrated for its exceptional coffee terroir. The region is characterized by extreme altitudes, often ranging between 2,200 and 2,450 meters above sea level. These high elevations facilitate a slow maturation process for coffee cherries, which is a critical factor in developing the high sweetness, clarity, and complex aromatic profiles for which coffees from this village are known.

The entity known as Alo Coffee was founded by Tamiru Tadesse and his wife, Messi, shortly after the inaugural Ethiopia Cup of Excellence in 2020. Tamiru, a native of the Bensa region, spent years working within the Ethiopian coffee sector, where he observed a significant disconnect between the high quality of local coffee and the undervalued prices paid to smallholder farmers. Inspired by the success of peers in the 2020 Cup of Excellence, he established Alo Coffee to bridge this gap by providing the infrastructure and expertise necessary to process cherries into high-value specialty lots.

Alo Coffee operates a network of processing stations across Sidama and West Arsi, with the Murago station being a key site for processing cherries sourced from Alo Village. The organization focuses on working with surrounding smallholder farmers, providing them with the means to process their laboriously cultivated, inherently organic cherries. By managing the post-harvest process with extreme precision, Alo Coffee ensures that the inherent potential of the Sidama terroir is fully realized in the final cup.

Processing methods at Alo Coffee are diverse and highly technical. They are well-regarded for their mastery of both traditional and experimental techniques, including washed, natural, and anaerobic processes. For instance, their anaerobic lots often involve placing hand-selected, ripe cherries into airtight vats—sometimes with the addition of grape must—for extended fermentation periods, such as 96 hours. This meticulous approach is designed to enhance the coffee's aromatic complexity, often resulting in distinct notes of pineapple, lacto-fermented strawberry, and coconut.

The impact of Alo Coffee’s work was solidified on the global stage when they achieved a first-place victory at the 2021 Ethiopia Cup of Excellence. This achievement not only brought international recognition to the Bensa region but also significantly expanded market opportunities for the smallholder farmers within their network. By connecting these farmers directly with specialty coffee communities that recognize and reward quality, Tamiru Tadesse has successfully shifted the economic trajectory for many families in the area.

Today, Alo Village coffees are frequently identified by the use of the 74158 variety, a selection known for its floral and fruity characteristics. Whether presented as a washed peaberry or an experimental anaerobic natural, these coffees are consistently sought after by roasters for their clarity and expressive profiles. The story of Alo Village stands as a testament to the power of localized processing expertise in transforming the livelihoods of smallholder farmers while simultaneously delivering world-class coffee to the global market.