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ETHIOPIA + KENYA THE TREES ARE SMILING Upon arriving in Nairobi, I drove two hours to Nyeri in order to stay close to the Central Kenyan Coffee Mill in Mathira. This place is a clearinghouse for many of the coffees produced in this area, and where the beloved Gaturiri and Gatonboya we carry reside until we receive them. FIRST LEG—ETHIOPIA NOVEMBER 26–29: CUPPING IN ADDIS ABABA Ethiopia Airlines' Dreamliner had been grounded so I coached it on an old 777 to Addis out of Dulles. This was my second trip to East Africa in the past two months. The plane was half empty, which made for a comfortable ride—I could lie out for a whole row and get some much-needed sleep overnight. I'd been on the road since early November to Panama, El Salvador, Honduras, and now Ethiopia and Kenya. Late last November I'd flown to Addis and spent my time in Jimma, specifically the Agaro area, visiting cooperatives—Nano Challa, Duromina, and others such as Yukro and Doyo. (I wrote a blog about this previous trip: www.stumptowncoffee. com/ethiopia-source-2012). All in all, it was an incredibly important visit, but my timing was off—I was a tad early for the harvest. This second trip was to look over some newly arrived lots of our Nano Challa and Duromina, as well as to cup groups including Haro Sana, Welin Gudina, and Wellinso among others—a snapshot of the harvest from the West. I also was lucky enough to spend time with Abraham Begashaw of Supreme Coffee Holders and cup our first container of Mordecofe, from Haile Gebre's Sidamo farm. Most of the groups were down in volume, but quality was looking promising. I planned on three days to meet with Supreme Coffee Holders, Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, Technoserve, and Addis Exporters. Because of the importance and overall sea change that is occurring in Western Ethiopia, I felt it imperative to make a second visit over to see how the early lots were tasting, and check in with all of our relationships to get an idea on volume levels for 2013 coffees. I've grown fond of Addis, a city of contrasts with over 3.5 million inhabitants. Addis is less than 150 years old, yet right down the road from where Lucy spent her youth in the Afar Depression of the Great Rift Valley scavenging for berries and plucking ticks from the scalps of other hominins. Smack in the center of the country, it's an amazing mesh of cultures, religions, and social expressions, and, at the same time, the lurching traffic, random power outages and subpar Web access may cause the most patient person to lose their cool. Navigating politics is at least as maddening as the traffic—just ask the two Swedish journalists recently sentenced to 11 years in prison for terrorism convictions. They were eventually pardoned after 14 months— the government presented no evidence to support the charges brought upon them. The political and social issues before Ethiopia are beyond challenging, ranging from overt political pressure during the recent 2010 elections to issues such as female genital mutilation and suppression of the media. Despite this, its coffee culture is the oldest on the planet, and its coffee is as dear to Ethiopians as anything else they produce as a country other then teff (a grass-seedlike millet used for injera) or tej (a mead honey wine). I have learned more about what coffee can be from its farmers, millers, and tasters. By the middle of spring to summer, we should be seeing some phenomenal landed Ethiopians. During my last two days of cupping, I found what I was looking for: cup clarity, complexity, and a sharp sweetness only washed coffees can provide. Now, fingers crossed, we'll have timely arrivals. We made some headway and were able to clarify plans for 2013/14 and needs that we will have. SECOND LEG—KENYA JANUARY 30–FEBRUARY 6: NYERI AND NAIROBI Mathira, Nyeri District An early flight out of Addis to Nairobi went smooth in just under two hours. I immediately made my way up to Nyeri, about a two-hour drive to stay close to the mill where many of our most tasty Kenyan coffee reside. The mill is a clearinghouse for many of the coffees produced in Nyeri. Central Kenyan Coffee Mill (CKCM), in Mathira, processes two our www.baristamagazine.com 41