Every cup of coffee on Earth traces back to one country.
Not Brazil. Not Colombia. Not Vietnam.
Ethiopia.
More specifically, the southern highlands — where coffee was first discovered, first cultivated, and first traded over a thousand years ago. The Sidama region in southern Ethiopia is where coffee retains its most ancient, most complex, and most genetically diverse expression.
This is the soul of The Accelerator. And the brightness in The Strategy Blend.
The Region — Where Coffee Grew Wild
Sidama sits at 1,500-2,200 metres above sea level in the Great Rift Valley of southern Ethiopia. The geography is dramatic: volcanic soil, high altitude, abundant rainfall, and dense canopy forest that shades the coffee plants from direct sun.
Unlike Brazil's engineered plantations, Ethiopian coffee often grows semi-wild. Many of the coffee trees in Sidama are direct genetic descendants of the original Coffea arabica plants that humans have been cultivating for centuries. The genetic diversity is staggering — botanists have identified over 6,000 distinct coffee varieties native to Ethiopia. Most other coffee-growing countries work with five or six.
This genetic library is why Ethiopian coffees taste like nothing else. There's no single "Ethiopian flavour" — there's a kaleidoscope of expressions, each tied to a specific village, microclimate, or processing tradition.
The Farmers — Cooperatives, Not Plantations
In Sidama, coffee is rarely produced on large plantations. Instead, it's grown by hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers, each tending plots of one to five hectares. These farmers organise into cooperatives — federations that collect, process, and export the coffee on behalf of their members.
The Sidama Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union represents over 80,000 farming families across more than 50 cooperatives. When you buy specialty Ethiopian coffee, you're not buying from one farm. You're buying from a collective effort spanning entire valleys.
This matters for two reasons. First, it means premium specialty pricing reaches actual farming families, not just corporate intermediaries. Second, it means traceability is more difficult — but when done right, more meaningful. The lot in your bag came from real people you could, in theory, visit.
The Processing — Natural for The Accelerator, Both for The Strategy Blend
The Ethiopian Sidama in The Accelerator is natural process — the same method as our Brazil component, but executed in a completely different climate.
While Brazil dries cherries on raised beds in low humidity, Ethiopian naturals dry on raised African beds (which the world copied from Ethiopia) in higher altitude with more variable conditions. The result is a more pronounced fruit character — blueberry, strawberry, sometimes notes of red wine.
For The Strategy Blend's Africa accent, we may use either natural or washed Ethiopian. The washed process — where the cherry is removed before drying — produces a cleaner, more delicate cup. Bright florals like jasmine and bergamot. Crisp acidity like lemon zest.
We choose based on harvest year. Specialty roasting requires flexibility, not rigidity.
The Flavour Profile — Aromatic Complexity
The Ethiopian Sidama in The Accelerator delivers a layered aromatic experience that complements the dense Brazilian foundation:
Florals on the nose — geranium, jasmine, sometimes elderflower. This is the first thing you smell when grinding the beans.
Berry brightness — blueberry from naturals, lemon-citrus from washed. This adds vivacity to what would otherwise be a heavy, one-dimensional cup.
Tea-like finish — Ethiopian coffees often finish with a clean, almost bergamot-tea quality. This is what keeps The Accelerator from feeling sluggish despite its dark roast.
Wine-like body — fermented fruit complexity from extended natural processing. Some lots taste almost like dry red wine.
In The Accelerator, Ethiopia provides the aromatic top note. Without it, the cup would be all bass and no melody. Brazil is the bass line. Ethiopia is the melody. India Robusta is the percussion.
Why We Chose It For The Accelerator and The Strategy Blend
The Accelerator needs aroma. Espresso without aroma is just bitter water. The Ethiopian component opens the cup the moment the espresso hits the cup — that floral and berry note that tells your brain this is real coffee before the first sip.
The Strategy Blend uses Ethiopia for a different reason. As an all-day filter coffee, The Strategy Blend needs to be drinkable hot, warm, and at room temperature. Many coffees become muddled or astringent as they cool. Ethiopian coffees, particularly the brighter washed lots, become more interesting as they cool — the florals and citrus come forward, the body remains structured.
This is what makes The Strategy Blend the right choice from your 9am desk pour to your 4pm afternoon refill.
The Numbers
- Altitude: 1,500-2,200 metres above sea level
- Region: Sidama Zone, Southern Nations region, Ethiopia
- Varietals: Heirloom (over 6,000 indigenous varieties — most lots are blends)
- Processing: Natural (for The Accelerator), Natural or Washed (for The Strategy Blend)
- Harvest: October to January
- Drying time: 12-21 days on raised African beds
- Cup score (SCA): 84-92 points (highest scoring origin in the world)
- Genetic diversity: Over 6,000 indigenous varieties
Operator's Note
There's a romantic reason to use Ethiopian coffee: it's the birthplace of the entire industry, and every roaster owes something to the farmers who first cultivated wild Coffea arabica centuries ago.
But romance doesn't justify €20 per bag.
What justifies it is what Ethiopia does to a blend that no other origin can do. Brazil gives you body and consistency. Colombia gives you balance and structure. Central America gives you sweetness and clarity.
Ethiopia gives you complexity. Layered, evolving, alive complexity that changes from the first sip to the last.
For The Accelerator, this complexity is what separates a great espresso from an excellent one. You can build a competent espresso without Ethiopia. You cannot build a memorable one.
We are not in the business of competent. We are in the business of memorable.
