Tamiro Tadesse

Tamiru Tadesse, Bensa Woreda, Sidama Zone

This lot comes from Tamiru Tadesse's farm in Delo Kebele, part of the Bensa woreda within Ethiopia's Sidama zone — a stretch of the country's south-central highlands responsible for some of its most celebrated coffee. Tadesse works directly with around 200 neighboring farmers, collecting an estimated 182,000 kilograms of red cherry each season from roughly 80 hectares of land, a scale that lets him maintain consistent quality across a genuine smallholder network rather than a single estate.

Tadesse came to coffee later than most Ethiopian producers: he spent part of his career as a university professor and electrical engineer before returning to farm the land in his home village of Alo. That return paid off quickly and dramatically. Shortly after Ethiopia held its first-ever Cup of Excellence competition in 2020, Tadesse and his wife, Messi, founded Alo Coffee, named for their home village, to export lots directly rather than through a generic cooperative channel. The following year, in 2021, their first Cup of Excellence submission won the competition outright — a lot that sold at online auction for $330 per kilogram to Saza Coffee of Tokyo. Less widely told is that Tadesse entered a second lot that same year, which placed fifth and sold for $57 per kilogram to another Tokyo buyer, Sarutahiko Coffee — a result that suggests the farm's quality runs deeper than a single standout lot.

That success has translated into reinvestment locally: the Alo Washing Station now works with around 60 farmers directly on-site and roughly 800 more across other stations Tadesse's operation touches, with profits going toward community projects including schools and seedling nurseries. Sidama's elevation and cool nights are the backdrop that makes all of this possible — the zone consistently produces some of Ethiopia's brightest, most fruit-forward coffee, and Tadesse's lots are a well-documented example of what that terroir can do in careful hands.

Black Cherry, Honey, Mango

This cup leads with a deep black cherry character, sweetens through honey in the middle, and closes on ripe mango — a fruit-driven profile with juicy acidity and a body that sits comfortably between light and medium. It's a cup with real depth rather than a single dominant fruit note.

That combination of darker cherry tones alongside brighter mango and honey is characteristic of well-grown Sidama coffee, where cool nighttime temperatures at altitude slow the ripening of cherries and let sugars build gradually before harvest. The result is a cup that rewards slow, attentive drinking rather than one built for a quick, generic cup of coffee — the fruit layers reveal themselves more as the coffee cools rather than all at once while it's hot.

This lot is best taken black; the mango and black cherry notes are subtle enough that milk or sweetener tends to compete with them rather than complement them.

Pour-Over First

A fruit-forward cup with this much layering is built for filter brewing, which lets the black cherry and mango notes come through without the extra weight full immersion methods add.

Pour-Over

Ratio: 1:16 (coffee to water by weight).

Grind: Medium-fine.

Water temperature: 198–202°F (92–94°C).

Time: Around 2:45–3:15, with a slow, even pour.

Siphon or Vacuum Pot

For drinkers set up for it, a siphon brewer is worth trying with this lot specifically — its full immersion followed by clean vacuum filtration tends to draw out more of the mango sweetness than a standard pour-over, while still keeping the cup free of sediment.

Buy in amounts you'll use within a few weeks and keep the coffee whole-bean until you're ready to brew; the mango note is the first to soften once this coffee is ground, well before the deeper black cherry character fades.

Did You Know

• This producer was a professor and engineer before he was a coffee farmer. Tamiru Tadesse spent part of his career as a university professor and electrical engineer before returning to work his family's land in Bensa — an unusual path in a region where coffee farming is typically passed down directly, generation to generation.

• A second, lesser-known lot from this same 2021 harvest also placed nationally. While Tadesse's top lot won Ethiopia's 2021 Cup of Excellence outright, a second submission from his farm placed fifth in the same competition and sold at auction for $57 per kilogram to Sarutahiko Coffee of Tokyo.

• Competition success gets reinvested locally, not just banked. Profits from Tadesse's Alo Coffee operation — which works with roughly 60 farmers directly at its washing station and 800 more across the wider network — go toward building schools and seedling nurseries in the surrounding community.

• The washing station and the coffee share a name for a reason. Alo Coffee and the Alo Washing Station are both named for Tadesse's home village in Bensa, where he and his wife, Messi, founded the company shortly after Ethiopia's first Cup of Excellence competition in 2020.

What does Tamiro Tadesse coffee taste like?

This lot cups with black cherry depth, honey sweetness, and a ripe mango finish — a fruit-forward profile with juicy acidity and a body between light and medium, best enjoyed black.

Who is Tamiru Tadesse?

He's an Ethiopian coffee producer farming in the Bensa woreda of the Sidama zone, and a former university professor and electrical engineer. He and his wife, Messi, founded Alo Coffee in 2020, and his farm won Ethiopia's Cup of Excellence in 2021.

Did this producer only ever have one award-winning lot?

No — alongside the 2021 Cup of Excellence-winning lot, a second lot from the same harvest placed fifth in the same competition and sold at auction to a separate Tokyo-based roaster, showing the farm's consistency beyond a single standout coffee.

Is this the same coffee as Ethiopia Alo Mosto?

No — Ethiopia Alo Mosto is a separate, anaerobic-processed lot from the same producer's farm. This is a different lot from Tamiru Tadesse's operation.

How should I brew this coffee?

Pour-over works well at a 1:16 ratio, medium-fine grind, and water around 198–202°F (92–94°C). A siphon brewer is also worth trying, since it tends to draw out extra sweetness from the mango note.

What makes Sidama zone coffee distinctive?

Sidama's high elevation and cool nights slow cherry ripening, concentrating sugars and acids before harvest — the same conditions behind this lot's layered black cherry, honey, and mango profile, and a hallmark of the zone's coffee more broadly.