Bombe - Honey

MEET THE PRODUCER | Tamiru Tadesse was born in the small village of Alo in Bensa, a district of Sidama with rich soil and high elevation, making it an ideal locale for specialty coffee production in the caffeinated history of Ethiopia. Tamiru began his professional career as a university professor and electrical engineer, but something kept calling him back to coffee. 

When Ethiopia held its first Cup of Excellence in 2020, Tamiru saw firsthand that exceptional coffee could be both celebrated and rewarded. Together with his wife, Messi, Tamiru founded Alo Coffee, an exporting company and network of processing stations throughout Bensa. In 2021, with their inaugural entry, Tamiru and Messi won Ethiopia’s Cup of Excellence with a lot processed from their hometown of Alo, transforming their leap of faith into a pillar of greatness.

TRUST THE PROCESS | Honey processed coffees were relatively unheard of until the last five years. However, as Ethiopia’s climate has grown more arid, honey processing offers producers a way to conserve water, compared to washed processing methods.

Coffee is pulped, although a high percentage of mucilage is left intact. Rather than fermenting in water, as is traditional in Ethiopian washed processing, the coffee sits dry in its fruit mucilage, fermenting for approximately one week. The mucilage turns dark and sticky—hence its likeness to honey—and is rinsed off at the end of its fermentation period. The coffee is then laid out to dry until optimal moisture content is achieved. 

TAKE A SIP | Everything about this coffee has us crooning, “Isn’t she lovely…” Quite floral, like white flowers, it’s stunning from the first sip to the last—giving us everything we could want from the final Ethiopian offerings of the season. It tastes like a washed coffee, but the honey processing lends some lovely yellow fruit notes, like mango and nectarine. This coffee sips like oolong tea steeped with lemon zest, making it the perfect addition to your summer porch sitting schemes.

Origin | Bensa, Sidama, Ethiopia

Producer | Alo Coffee

Process | Honey

Variety | 74158

Elevation | 2200-2400 MASL

Black & White Coffee Roasters sources this lot from Alo Coffee in the Bensa district of Sidama, Ethiopia, a region long associated with coffees of notable aromatic complexity. The 74158 selection is a certified Ethiopian landrace variety, and at elevations like 2200–2400 masl, slow cherry development is generally understood to concentrate sugars and refine acidity.

Honey processing occupies a middle ground between washed and natural methods — some fruit mucilage is left on the bean during drying, which typically adds body and a subtle sweetness while preserving more clarity than a full natural. The result can bridge floral and fruit registers in ways that complement Ethiopia's characteristic aromatic potential. The tasting notes here — white flowers, mango, nectarine, oolong tea, and lemon zest — span the delicate and the tropical ends of the flavor wheel, suggesting a profile with both brightness and depth.