"Bright, fragrant aromas of lemon peel, white peach, lychee, bergamot, and florals carry through into the cup. The sip leads with lemon custard, peach juice, and lychee jelly, supported by yellow pomelo, bergamot, and an elegant jasmine note. The body is smooth and full, like yogurt, with a long, lingering floral-fruit finish."

Tamiru Tadesse founded Alo Coffee in 2020 together with his wife, Messi, bringing an unusually systems-driven approach to a landscape often defined by tradition and consolidation. Coming from a background as a university lecturer and electrical engineer, he treats processing as a set of controllable variables: harvest selection, fermentation timing, drying pace, and quality control are built into repeatable protocols rather than left to chance. The early validation for that approach arrived quickly when Alo’s first competition submission went on to win Ethiopia’s Cup of Excellence in 2021. This particular lot is credited to Bona Zuria Site outgrowers, reflecting the smallholder network that supplies cherry into Alo’s processing and selection framework.

Bona Zuria sits in Sidama, with this selection sourced from high elevations around 2,100–2,300 meters above sea level. At these heights, slower cherry maturation typically supports a tighter seed structure and a more measured sugar development, while cool nights help preserve aromatic definition. The sourcing model here centers on outgrowers delivering ripe cherry into a centralized site identified as “Bona Zuria,” a structure that can support both traceability and consistent processing outcomes. Hydrangea notes that Alo’s buying footprint includes elevations that, until recently, were less viable for coffee cultivation, pointing to a landscape that is actively shifting in response to climate pressures.

The variety set—74110, 74112, and 74158—anchors this coffee in Ethiopia’s research-station selections rather than the broad “heirloom” shorthand. 74110 and 74112 trace back to the Metu–Bishari forest selections that were catalogued in the 1970s, with JARC work emphasizing disease resistance and agronomic stability without abandoning cup quality potential. 74158 is also a JARC-approved release, originating from the Metu Bishari selections and widely noted for its combination of yield potential and resilience, which is part of why it has spread beyond its original western provenance into southern highland plantings. Together, these cultivars tend to reward careful post-harvest control, especially when the goal is clarity plus a structured sweetness rather than overt ferment character.

For honey processing, the core idea is simple: remove the fruit skin while intentionally leaving a measured layer of mucilage to dry onto the seed, letting the remaining sugars influence texture and sweetness. In Alo’s honey workflows described by partner roasters, ripe cherry is hand-picked, floated to remove defects, depulped quickly, and then dried on raised or shaded beds with mucilage intact until the coffee reaches stable moisture for storage. This lot is explicitly labeled “Red Honey,” typically indicating a higher mucilage retention (and therefore a stickier, slower-managed drying phase) than lighter honey styles, while still avoiding the full-fruit drying of naturals. The practical success of that approach depends less on novelty than on discipline: controlled handling at intake, deliberate drying pace, and rigorous sorting to keep the cup clean at high sweetness.

Variety : Heirloom
Altitude : 2,250 masl
Process : Red Honey
Origin : Bona Zuria, Bensa