Gemeda Elias Dube, 32, has been working on his father’s coffee land since he was 15 years old. When he reached 21 he started his coffee farm on 7 hectares of land given to him by his father. Currently, his land grew to 86 hectares. He produces and collects 1,340,000 kilograms of coffee annually from his land and 103 outgrower farmers on another 490 hectares. “I provide improved seedling and technical support to my farmers to ensure quality production,” said Ato Gemeda.

SCA Cupping Score : 87.79

Ethiopia 2020

Rank: 19

Auction: Cup of Excellence

Aroma/Flavor: Tootsie roll, bakers chocolate, spice, apricot, tropical, black currant, plum, sugar cane, orange, chocolate, berry, green mango, orange, chocolate, prune, solid, well balanced, refined, caramel

Acidity: Clear, medium phosphoric, malic, tartaric, intense

Other: Dark chocolate, sweet, raspberry cordial, complex, long sweet finish

Auction Lot Size (kg): 1035

"Cup of Excellence® is the premier coffee competition and auction worldwide! It is also the highest award given to a top-scoring coffee. The level of scrutiny that Cup of Excellence coffees undergoes is unmatched. All of the Cup of Excellence award winners are cupped at least five times (the top ten are cupped again) during the three-week competition. Literally, hundreds of cups are smelled, tasted, and scored based on their exemplary characteristics. The prices that these winning coffees receive at the auction have broken records time and again and prove that there is a huge demand for these rare, farmer-identified coffees. The Cup of Excellence program has set the standard for the increased premiums that farmers have been able to receive for their exemplary coffees. It continues to build a much more transparent infrastructure and gives farmers the tools needed to improve the economic model of their farms. It also gives farmers an incentive to experiment with varietals and processing techniques knowing there can be a recognition and financial reward for their hard work and effort."

We’re very excited to have a small amount of lot #19 from Gemeda Elias Dube available to share with you. Gemeda Elias Dube, 32, has been working on his father’s land growing coffee since he was 15 years old. When he was 21 he started his own coffee farm on 7 hectares of land given to him by his father, near the city of Shakiso in the West Guji region.

Today this little parcel of land has expanded to a total of 86 hectares. He also works with 103 local farmers who have a further 490 hectares of land between them. “I provide improved seedling and technical support to my farmers to ensure quality production,” said Ato Gemeda. Between collections from these out-grower farmers and produce from his own farm, he cultivates a total of 1,340,000 kilograms of coffee annually.

Within this annual crop, there are a staggering 7410 varieties, and lots from these are processed both as Washed and (as this lot is) Natural dry-process coffees. His coffee is auctioned through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, ECX. “I understand quality wins, but the market sometimes is not encouraging,” says Gemeda, “This kind of competition is what quality producers like us can benefit from”. Having submitted multiple coffees for the Cup of Excellence Competition, two of his coffees landed in 19th and 24th place with scores of 87.79 and 87.43 respectively. A fantastic result for some wonderful coffees!