Ethiopia and Hacofco; two things that belong together. We have been sourcing great coffees from the country of origin since the inception of our company – 35 years and counting…

In February, Max Schneider took part in the AFCA (African Fine Coffees Association) in Addis Ababa. After the convention, we went to the South to the famous coffee growing regions of Yirgacheffe, Guji and Sidamo.

The crop is fully harvested and the warehouses in the coffee growing regions are full. The crop itself is going to be a decent one, both in quality and quantity. Due to the high prices received last year and at the beginning of this year, the majority of Akrabi (middle-men), washing station owners and exporters elected to go for the less capital intensive process of sundried/naturals. 

It is difficult to report an exact crop number, but we are estimating a similar size to last year’s crop – somewhere in the ballpark of 8,50 to 9,00 million bags, of which 60% will be naturals. Naturals will have a good year in general, both in quality and quantity; first qualities appear to be improved from the past two years.

Due to the on-going issues in the Red Sea, the port of Djibouti is experiencing delays in bookings and vessel departures. Some carriers are avoiding Djibouti for the time being. We estimate a delay of 4-6 weeks from the usual shipment schedule. Containers continue to be a rarity and all shipments are being re-routed via the Cape of Good Hope.