Summary

In 2014, Israel and his company, Kershanshe, became the majority shareholder in a land lease contract in the national park of Bale Mountain. They rehabilitated and replanted 75 hectares of coffee. The first harvest was in 2017. They now have 100 hectares currently producing coffee and an additional 30 hectares of newly planted Gesha trees that will have their first production in 2019/2020.

Bale Mountain Farm only produces naturals, but the nearby washing stations of Bulga Mokonesa and Solena produce washed coffees from cherries cultivated in the same area.

Bale Mountain Farm also purchase coffee from outgrowers located near the farm. About 400 farmers deliver small amounts of cherries to the washing station. In 2017 the private farm produced about 400,000 kg of cherries, and purchased an additional 100 kg which they process separately from the farm’s own production.

About 300 pickers are employed at the farm, 150 of them are experienced pickers tasked with training the other half of the workforce. Government requires the company and station to follow up.

Many of Israel’s washing stations are great simply due to their location and altitude, and he is building on this potential quality by investing in better systems and protocols. To maintain quality standards Israel has invested in a modern warehouse and dry mill in Addis. There he has separate areas for washed and naturals, as well as for specialty and for the normal commodity. He also purchased high-tech colour sorters, and built a quality control lab, all to produce and maintain high quality lots.

Every day of production Israel’s team differentiates what goes into the improved and better qualities (Grade 1) from the normal preparation for Grade 2 and Grade 3. Flotation systems separate some of the coffees on-site for better performance. These coffees are assigned a quality team to carefully tend to their processing. They generally do lot separation based on 150 bags of parchment, equal to 100 bags of greens, but they also do smaller lot sizes, especially for honey, shade-dried or other improved preparations. The coffees are separated according to the days and areas of harvest as well as by preparation.

We buy improved naturals, honeys, and shade-dried coffees from select washing stations.

Our partners

We have been working with Israel Degfa for several years, a young business man with a sure and steady focus. When the Ethiopian Coffee Exchange (ECX) operated in a way that obscured the origins of coffee, Israel was more focused on producing high volumes. However he predicted the eventual opening up of the ECX and several years ago shifted his focus to quality. He hired a separate team dedicated to specialty, and built a dry mill specifically to process specialty and micro-lots. Finally, in 2017, the coffee market in Ethiopia was opened to allow businessmen like Israel to sell directly to importers like Nordic Approach, and Israel was ready with high quality and fully traceable coffees.

Israel runs more than 30 washing stations in Ethiopia, and after several years of working together we have narrowed our focus to a handful of specific regions and washing stations where we know we can expect quality, and Israel gives us priority. We pre-contract and book coffees at the start of the harvest to both demonstrate our commitment, and to increase our access to the best coffees. With up-front investment, the producers are able to budget and invest more in quality control and improved processing and selection.

Many of Israel’s washing stations are great simply due to their location and altitude, and he is building on this potential quality by investing in better systems and protocols. To maintain quality standards Israel has invested in a modern warehouse and dry mill in Addis. There he has separate areas for washed and naturals, as well as for specialty and for the normal commodity. He also purchased high-tech colour sorters, and built a quality control lab, all to produce and maintain high quality lots.

Every day of production Israel’s team differentiates what goes into the improved and better qualities (Grade 1) from the normal preparation for Grade 2 and Grade 3. Flotation systems separate some of the coffees on-site for better performance. These coffees are assigned a quality team to carefully tend to their processing. They generally do lot separation based on 150 bags of parchment, equal to 100 bags of greens, but they also do smaller lot sizes, especially for honey, shade-dried or other improved preparations. The coffees are separated according to the days and areas of harvest as well as by preparation.

We buy improved naturals, honeys, and shade-dried coffees from select washing stations.

The cultivars:

Mountain Bale Farm grows a mix of local varieties from the research centre, plus native forest varieties that have been transferred to family smallholder plots. The varieties are referred to collectively as Ethiopian Heirloom, which is a myriad of local native Typica hybrids, plus new and improved varieties based on the old strains.

Post-Harvest Processing – Naturals:

Harvest and cherry selection

Coffee cherries are harvested by family members, then hand-sorted to remove unripe and overripe cherries before they are delivered to the washing station for processing. Israel generally pays a higher price for good quality cherries, normally 2-4 Birr/kg on top of the general cherry prices.

Soaking and pre-sorting

The cherries are soaked in water. The healthy cherries will sink, while the diseased and damaged cherries will float and are skimmed off and removed. The cherries will then be moved to the drying beds. Underripe and defective cherries will be sorted out by hand during the first days.

Fermentation

When producing naturals the level of fermentation will be determined by the thickness and layer during the first days of drying in combination with temperature. Fermentation is slower at higher altitudes as temperatures are generally lower.

Drying and handsorting

The cherries are dried in a relatively thin layer at about 3-4 cm the first days. They will build up the layers to 6-10 cm after a few days. The coffees are moved frequently and they will be covered during the hottest hours of the day to protect the cherries from intense sunlight, then again at night to protect against humidity. This will also help improve quality as the coffee is rested and the drying more homogeneous. Drying naturals at these altitudes can take up to 20 days.

Warehouse and Supply Chain Management:

Warehousing at the washing station

After drying, the coffees will be packed in jute bags and stored in the local warehouse onsite, separated by process and grade. Lot sizes can vary from 100 – 300 bags. This process helps condition the coffee and achieve a more uniform humidity. They will normally be stored 1-2 months before they are moved. In some cases the parchment will be hand-sorted in the warehouse.

Transport and logistics

After the harvest season is over the coffees are moved to warehouses and dry mills in Addis. Trucking is expensive in Ethiopia. The coffee trucks must pass a local ECX checkpoint where its contents are graded and registered as an exportable product, before it continues to Addis Ababa.

Warehousing and dry milling

The coffee will sit in parchment in a warehouse in Addis. This is when our team will go to the warehouse and collect the samples from the specific stocklots. It remains in parchment until it is contracted and the destination for shipment is confirmed.

Tropiq Lab and quality control.

Our team on the ground in Addis personally collect samples which we cup and grade, and measure humidity and water activity. When the specific lot is selected for purchase we register the contract with a shipping destination and approve it for milling and shipment. We are present at the dry mill during processing, grading and bagging, and we immediately take a PSS sample for approval.

Container stuffing and transport

We generally try to get our containers stuffed in Addis at the dry mills and moved to the port and straight on a vessel in Djibouti. This way we reduce the risk of delays or mistakes at port that frequently happen when moving coffee by truck for stuffing in Djibouti.

The Impact

Besides the ability to produce great coffees on a good scale, we work with Israel because he genuinely cares about the farmers. He grew up in a coffee producing area, and he shows great respect for the farmers, both as business partners and as people.

Education

Israel builds schools to support the local communities. He contributes the land and pays for the construction, and ensures access to clean water for the students. The government is in charge of managing the school and paying its teachers, and Israel provides school materials on occasion. Israel has already built schools in Adola, Kercha (Mokonesa and Mokonesa Bulga) and is currently constructing schools in Gelana Gesha and Kilenso Mokonesa.

We strongly support education, both in general and in coffee, and we invest in educational projects that help increase yield and quality, and those that prepare the coming generations of coffee farmers for climate change and the developments in the market. Nordic Approach supports Israel’s school projects as part of our buying program which means when you buy coffee from the Boji washing station, you are supporting these school projects too.

Farmer Premiums

In addition to paying premiums for quality, Israel has registered some washing stations as Rainforest Alliance and Organic. That means means some producers earn two premiums, one for the certification and another for quality. Boji and Adola washing stations are both certified organic, and organic certification for Uraga is in process.

Nordic Approach – How we purchase and select coffees:

We plan our selection at the beginning of the harvest and will usually pre-book most of our coffees.

Working alongside the team of Tropiq Ethiopia, our sister company, the Nordic Approach team is in Addis several times a year. We plan the season with our suppliers and develop relationships and a mutual understanding on our priorities and strict buying criteria.

When it comes to the season for making decisions, we are there to cup with our team, and we receive samples in Oslo on a weekly basis. After cupping through hundreds of samples this coffee is from our selection of Grade 1 rated coffees.

The coffees we buy are cupped and assessed in a way that gives us good insight into the cup profile and quality, as well as the consistency of that particular lot.