Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Adado

This exceptional lot was processed, dry milled and exported by Legu Trading. The coffee was grown by smallholder farmers living around the town of Adado in Gedeo County, Yirgacheffe region.

Adado is an area close to the town of Yirgacheffe in Southern Ethiopia. It is named after the Adado tribe, and has some of the highest coffee growing coffee in the country.

Most contributing farmers own less than a hectare of land, and they grow coffee simply as a backyard cash crop. Coffee will usually be interspersed with other subsistence crops, such as sweet potato, mangos and avocados.

Income from coffee is important but minimal for most farmers due to the small size of their farms. As such, inputs are minimal – most coffee grown in the region is 100% organic, though not certified, as farmers simply don’t have themoney to apply chemical fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides.

Legu Trading tries to help with this situation by offering a premium price and by hiring as many individuals as possible in their mills and facilities. The company hires at least 300 people year round and up to 600 in the high season. All workers are paid a fair wage and receive full, 8 hour work days.

Coffee is selectively hand-picked before being delivered to collection points, usually within 10 km of the producers’homes. Great care is taken upon delivery to separate out any overripe, underripe or damaged beans before consolidating with other lots for the road to the wet mill.