Introduction to Alo Village in Bensa Town, Sidama: What Does Alo Coffee Mean?

FrontStreet Coffee: Ethiopian Sidamo Alo Hatessa Natural Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Sidamo Bensa Alo Hatessa
Altitude: 2180-2280 meters
Variety: 74158
Grade: G1
Processing: Natural Method

Flavor: Magnolia, passion fruit, pineapple, mango, fermented notes

What Does Alo Mean?

Alo Coffee PLC is a coffee trading company from Ethiopia, founded in 2020, primarily responsible for exporting coffee from the Bensa region, essentially functioning as a green bean brand.

In the second year after its establishment, its founder Tamiru Tadesse Tesema participated in the 2021 Cup of Excellence (COE) competition with beans grown and processed in Alo Village, securing impressive first place (anaerobic natural 74165) and fifth place (natural 74158). Since then, Alo Coffee and Alo Village have gained prominence throughout the coffee community, catching the attention of countless enthusiasts.

Where is Alo Village Located?

On the map, Alo Village is located in the northeastern part of the Sidamo region, situated on the highest slopes of Bensa Woreda. The Bensa area is renowned for its unique geographical advantages, with coffee growing altitudes ranging from 1800 to 2300 meters. Compared to many Ethiopian classics, many coffee trees in Bensa Woreda grow at altitudes between 2200-2350 meters, with the famous Alo Village standing out among them, reaching an altitude of 2400 meters.

FrontStreet Coffee has mentioned in previous articles that for specialty coffee, the higher the growing altitude, the slower the coffee cherries mature, resulting in later harvest times compared to other regions. The green beans therefore have higher density, forming more complex and intense aromatic structures. On the other hand, due to the high altitude, the drying time for coffee cherries is also extended, and the post-harvest fermentation process occurs at relatively low temperatures, developing fuller "floral and fruit aromas."

The Man Behind Alo Coffee

As a native of Bensa, Tamiru was born in Alo Village and studied engineering during university. After graduation, he taught at a university for two years before dedicating himself to the specialty coffee industry. In 2020, when he saw fellow farmers from Bensa Woreda win COE awards, he realized the immense potential of specialty coffee produced in this region. However, due to small-scale operations and backward farmer conditions, it was difficult to commercialize these products in the market. He resolved to promote high-quality "Bensa flavor" to the world, thus establishing his own company, Alo Coffee.

Tamiru first obtained his Q-grader certification, then leveraging his understanding of Bensa's coffee cultivation and production conditions and years of green bean export experience, he began to systematically organize the region's production, distribution, and quality from scratch. He also analyzed the current challenges and opportunities facing Ethiopian specialty coffee. In just two years, Tamiru has made Alo's presence frequently appear in numerous specialty coffee shops overseas.

In the same year he founded the brand, he established a green bean processing station in Alo Village, building an exclusive transportation system to collect and process coffee cherries from over 200 small farmers in the surrounding area. Simultaneously, he provides professional knowledge training and technical support to these farmers while strictly controlling every detail of green bean processing to ensure traceability at each stage. In his personal life, Tamiru is also a very compassionate person, dedicating a portion of the company's income to creating schools and providing better educational conditions for local children.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that Alo Coffee's current reputation is first and foremost due to Tamiru's complete dedication to his hometown Bensa region, followed by his commitment to high-quality coffee and strict control over green bean quality.

Understanding Alo Coffee's Production Footprint

Currently, Alo Coffee's harvesting operations are mainly concentrated in the Bensa Woreda area within the Sidamo region. If distinguished by villages, besides the most famous Alo Village, batches from Bombe Village, Murago Village, and Bashiro Gute (belonging to Bona Zuria Woreda) are also available on the market, with these locations being more than 20 minutes apart by car.

Regarding processing station information, Tamiru has also disclosed relevant details on the official website. Currently, Alo Coffee's green bean processing areas include eight processing stations: Main (main processing station), Chilaka, Morke, Hatessa, Mewa, Hurro, Gute, and Chire Kalo.

FrontStreet Coffee's research shows that the main processing station Main, Hatessa, and Chilaka are all located in Bensa, Morke is situated in Bura, Mewa and Hurro are both in Nensebo, and Gute is in Bona Zuria. All processing stations are strategically located near coffee farms to facilitate faster post-processing operations while ensuring the freshness of coffee cherries.

In Ethiopia, since many processing stations (wet mills) are primarily responsible for coffee cherries picked from surrounding areas, stations are typically named directly after villages. For example, regular contenders on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list like Kochere and Banko Gotiti are named after their respective villages. Similarly, Hatessa, Mewa, and Gute represent both villages and the names of washing stations.

In terms of varieties, coffee produced by Alo is predominantly from the JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Center) 74 series varieties, including 74158, 74165, 74112, 74110, etc. The 2021 COE champion was variety 74165, but currently only 74158 from Alo is relatively common in the market. The batch FrontStreet Coffee obtained this time is 74158, selected from Hatessa processing plant under Alo Coffee (shown as "Hatesa" on Google Maps), a small village located 23 kilometers south of Alo Village. The fresh coffee cherries underwent traditional natural processing.

Natural Processing

Before the official natural drying, coffee farmers first manually harvest fully ripe coffee cherries, transport them to the Hatessa processing station for initial screening, and then classify the fruits again before cleaning. By observing the skin color, they remove overripe or underripe cherries to ensure uniform color before sun drying.

For naturally processed coffee, the farmers responsible for post-processing need to be very diligent in turning the fruits on the drying beds during the first three days, as the coffee cherries have high moisture content during this period. If not turned promptly, they not only easily develop mold but also develop unpleasant sour or rotten fruit flavors due to uneven heating. Throughout the process, coffee cherries are spread in only a thin layer to ensure better ventilation and drying environment. After 14-18 days, when the moisture content drops to the target level, they can be bagged and sent to the warehouse.

Through comparative observation, FrontStreet Coffee notes that the green beans from Hatessa natural batches are mostly on the smaller side, with round, miniature appearances, approximately between screen sizes 10-12. For this particular bean, FrontStreet Coffee hopes to highlight its mature fruit sweetness while preserving more of its floral aromas. FrontStreet Coffee chose a medium-light roast to present the elegant character of this Alo coffee.

Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee first experienced the sweet floral and fruit aromas of this Alo coffee, with distinct magnolia, pineapple, yellow peach, and small mango characteristics in the dry aroma, accompanied by a pleasantly sweet fermented fragrance.

When slurping, the entry reveals rich tropical fruit acidity and sweetness, with prominent flavors of ripe pineapple, passion fruit, and perfumed lemon, accompanied by slight black tea notes. The gentle fermented sensation combined with light floral notes makes one unable to resist taking a second sip. As the temperature slightly decreases, the coffee begins to show drupe characteristics like yellow peach and dried apricot, with clear, bright acidity that maintains complexity—truly exceptional.

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