An Interview with Ahadu Woubshet, owner of Tega & Tula Specialty Coffee Farms
Tega & Tula is one of Ethiopia’s oldest estates and an anchor relationship for Cafe Imports. Under the direction of Ahadu Woubshet since 2015, the farm has been revitalized for specialty coffee production. Last November, we had the opportunity to visit the farm during our sourcing travel and speak with Ahadu. His vision is that Tega & Tula be an exceptional Ethiopian farm. He related four principles that guide the team toward that goal: build infrastructure that is in harmony with the environment, use professional oversight to achieve operational excellence, be equitable toward all in their production chain, and take care of the community that takes care of them.
We’re honored to share Tega & Tula’s voice and coffees with you.
Earlier Posts
Harvest Report: Kenya 2020 – Complicated Is Beautiful
When we set out to tell our customers about the most recent Kenyan harvest every year, we realize it’s always a story with many, many chapters: Flavor, of course, is where the action happens, but there’s also lots of history required for the set-up, characters to introduce, and some plot twists along the way. Thankfully, these are just the kinds of stories we love to read, and the ones we love to tell—especially when everything turns out so delicious in The End.
6/2/20 – Status Update: We Are Open
Well, so far we’ve made it through two months of working from home, social distancing, changing protocols, navigating a changing business landscape, and experiencing a real rollercoaster of emotions. Like you, we’ve also been overwhelmed by what feels like a constant barrage of news and information—including updates like this one—from just about everywhere and everyone.
We’ve reduced the price on lots from Tega & Tula in Ethiopia, and here’s why.
One thing we don’t normally do is offer discounts or have “sales” on green coffee, because we believe in trying to set a fair price for all of our partners—from the farmer to the exporter to the roaster—from the moment we contract the coffee. We’re living in unusual times, however, and we’re announcing our first-ever blanket discount on all of our current spot coffees from Tega & Tula Farm in Limu, Ethiopia. The price has been reduced on all of the bags in our inventory to $7.50 USD/kg at this time.
Shipping Delays: Will There or Won’t There?
There have already been many immediate and obvious ways that the COVID-19 situation has affected the specialty-coffee industry, but we’re also keeping our eyes on a developing obstacle that may have further-reaching impact on the season of shipments we’re expecting over the coming weeks: a global container shortage and port backups that have been snowballing since late January.
Harvest Report: Ethiopia 2020
When all we can do is daydream about traveling, where else would we want our minds to wander? Let’s check in on the 2020 harvest in the birthplace of Arabica coffee: Beautiful Ethiopia.
Harvest Report: Colombia 2020, from Farmers to Friends
We say it every year, and every year we mean every word: Colombia is our second home, and it’s often an incubator for the ideas that become cornerstones of our business, our buying philosophy, and the scaffolding for our strongest relationships. This connection to the country is made possible through repeated visits—our green-coffee buyers visit more than once a quarter—as well as constant contact via e-mail, Skype, and WhatsApp in between. More often than not, we could give you an up-to-the moment idea of the weather in Bogotá as we could tell you whether the sun’s shining in Minneapolis, Berlin, or Melbourne where our sales offices are.
Fazenda Dutra: A Vision of Variety and Flavour from Brazil
We think of Brazil as a powerhouse of production, not necessarily capable of specialized, artisanal coffee output. These days, however, that impression is changing—and nowhere is that more evident than with the wonderful coffees coming out of Fazenda Dutra in the municipality of São João do Manhuaçu, Minas Gerais.
Harvest Report: Costa Rica 2020 and the Choices Producers Make
When we look at a beautiful harvest, or when we taste a brilliant cup, we tend to want to romanticize it: We imagine rolling hills and bright blue skies, the smell of fresh coffee blossoms, the sway of the shade trees. What we don’t think of are the countless steps that the producer went through to create that dreamy flavor experience, and the dozens of decisions that have to be made before, during, and at the end of the season in order to sustain or even improve the final product.
A Coffee-Producing Legend Goes Truly Seed-To-Cup with a New Café
We always say that Arnulfo Leguizamo is the ultimate cafetero role model: He’s not only a producer of some of the finest specialty coffees we’ve tasted from Huila, Colombia, but he’s also a community leader, innovator, and problem-solver, always looking for a way to improve or expand the ways he shares his coffee with others.
Fall in Love with the Special Flavours and Story of Rwandan Coffee with Us
About 700 meters’ boat ride from the shores of Lake Kivu is a small island called Gishamwana, which is easy to mistake as a mirage: Part of the island is covered in vibrant-green coffee trees that are grown under a cover of lush shade like a secluded, caffeinated heaven.
A Year-End Reflection on Our Harvest Reports: What Do You Want to Read in 2020?
We’re not only coffee nerds, but we’re also a company comprised of passionate world travelers and people who love people: Your friends at Cafe Imports tend to be curious, eager to learn, and dedicated to sharing what we know and what we do with other coffee people around the world—from farmers to roasters to everyday people who just happen to love a great shot of espresso. Our Harvest Reports are one way that we try to give our customers (and your customers) a behind-the-scenes look at the year’s coffee sources, and as this year closes we’d like to reflect on the reports and learn how we can make them better.
How Coffee Makes the “Grade,” and What Green-Coffee Grades Mean to You
AA, AB, PB, AX, SHB, SHG, EP, DP—scanning a list of green coffees can look like a Scrabble board gone horribly awry, but these letters really represent information that can be very useful for a coffee roaster: They are the “grade” of the coffee.