Takele is not new to the coffee business; he has been a grower and advisor for many years, seeing many shifts in the Ethiopian coffee market. In 2012, our importer, Royal, launched a Single Farmer Lot program with Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) in response to Ethiopia’s complex logistical structure for coffee. This program aids in traceability and exposure for smallholder farmers beyond what the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange can provide. Takele has been the directing manager of YCFCU for a number of years, offering valuable mentorship in direct trade to other farmers.
Recently, Takele has stepped down from his role with YCFCU to put forward more of his own crop from his 8 hectare (20 acre) farm with Royal’s Single Farmer Lot program. Yirgacheffe has long been famed for its high quality lots, and to have the heightened attention to detail represented through single farmer lots is a real treat.
We’re one link in a long supply chain, consisting of importers, exporters, processing stations and more—but that chain is always traceable back to an individual (and usually family-owned) farm. To that end, we strive to supply our customers with insight into pricing at various stages throughout the supply chain, only partnering with others who are like-minded in their efforts to maintain transparent practices throughout.