Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu (right). Photo by Aron Simeneh. Courtesy of Garden of Coffee.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia-based Garden of Coffee has relocated into a new headquarters, in what the roasting and retail company founder Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu describes as, “our love letter to Ethiopia and our amazing coffees and coffee cultures.”
A celebrated entrepreneur, founder of the soleRebels brand, and passionate advocate for inspiring positive economic change in her home country, Alemu launched the Garden of Coffee company last year. In addition to being a for-profit enterprise that provides dozens of jobs locally, the company aims to celebrate and promote Ethiopian coffee culture from seed to cup.
Photo by Aron Simeneh. Courtesy of Garden of Coffee.
“Garden of Coffee is about allowing coffee lovers to live coffee,” Alemu said in an announcement of the grand reopening, which took place this month on the ground floor of the JFK building in the Sar Bet neighborhood of Addis. “In Ethiopia we don’t just grow coffee. We live coffee each and everyday. It’s embedded in the DNA of our daily life. Coffee personifies Ethiopia and we in turn personify it. We want to showcase and share that magic with people everywhere on the planet and our café-roasteries are the perfect format to do this within.”
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu at the Nov. 8 grand reopening of Garden of Coffee in Addis. Photo by Aron Simeneh. Courtesy of Garden of Coffee.
Following the traditional Ethiopian method, all the coffee roasted within the new roastery café is done by hand with ceramic roasting pans over open heat sources. Digital screens within the café allow guests to see which coffees have been freshly roasted and are available for tasting, or customers may specify which of the available green coffees they would like roasted, to what level, and even by whom.
Photo by Aron Simeneh. Courtesy of Garden of Coffee.
Coffees are sourced from growing regions throughout Ethiopia — and Ethiopia alone — and packaging includes specific references to the growing region, as well as the name of the individual person who roasted the coffee on-site, providing a deeper, more intimate association between the customer and the people behind their coffee.
“We are very excited about our roast to order business as it’s a true one of a kind model not available anywhere,” Alemu said. “People have different coffee palates so it is very appropriate to give them a way to select the roast type that they want.”
Photo by Aron Simeneh. Courtesy of Garden of Coffee.
Garden of Coffee is now open in the JFK Building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
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Great news.
Nobody mentions why coffee roasting jobs and revenue are denied to developing countries. Here in Colombia 88% of the countries coffee production is exported to be roasted in far richer countries.
The industry deems workers in developing countries only fit to work in fields. Good to see roasteries like this. http://www.not1bean.com, we never roast outside of developing countries.
I’m thrilled to read the piece on Garden of Coffee reopening in.Addis Ababa! I.plan to.visit Addis.in.the Spring of.2018 and will make a must stop to ‘tickle my palate! with.a freak fresh experience! I.would be swooning to have one of these gardens in.Houston,TX ,my next residence . A daily visit with friends and family is communal.