Abedo Abamecha Ahmed’s coffee is from arguably the cultural and botanical home of coffee in the world, in a relatively small town by the name of Jimma in Ethiopia. It comes to us from a washing station owned by Abedo which he first established in 2017. From humble beginnings of only a few coffee beds and a tiny coffee processing machine in 2021, Abedo has since expanded the processing and drying infrastructure significantly, finding success in producing and processing some of the highest quality coffee in the famed ‘birthplace of all coffee’ region.

Abedo’s station now has the ability to process over 220 tonnes of coffee each year with 70 temporary and 6 permanent employees. His future plan is “to grow our coffee farm, bring on additional coffee farmers and growers, boost exports, and establish a sustainable business”.

Abedo’s naturally processed coffee starts with the selection of the finest and ripest cherry. They take 20-25 days to dry on average and Abedo says “We harvested this coffee from 30 hectares of our own land where we collaborated with 200 grower farmers - 30 from the Meti village and 170 from Bedeyi village”. Each batch of coffee is tracked by a tagging system from the farm to the final product, ensuring traceability and stored according to their specific lots.

MAKER partnered with Shared Source for this gorgeous lot of natural heirloom Ethiopian coffee in the 2024 buying season. The Ethiopian government authorities set a ‘minimum coffee sale price’ by region, by coffee grade and by seller type. The minimum pricing stipulated by the authorities for the grades and type Shared Source bought fluctuated between $4.20 and $4.40 USD per pound (FOB Djibouti) for G1 washed and $4.30 - $4.45 USD per pound for naturals during this buying season. We’re thrilled that Ethiopia has commanded such a premium above the commodity coffee price which at the time of purchase in 2024 was around $1.80 - $1.90 USD per pound. 

Abedo’s natural heirloom coffee reminds us of summer stone fruits in the cup, incredibly moreish and refreshing at this time of year in Australian summer. Layered with complex tropical fruit character and the silkiest, creamiest texture, we can’t get enough of this beautifully pure Ethiopian coffee. 

In 2025 MAKER embarked on a new partnership with Shared Source Exports, who specialise in incredibly high quality and traceable lots from Colombia and Guatemala. 

Shared Source are farmgate purchasers who pay in-full directly to producers or their independent associations, upon delivery of parchment, in local currency. Their goal is to pay coffee prices that are socially impactful beyond just the transaction and the quality in the cup. 

We fell in love with Arlam Aguirre’s 2024 coffee that was blended from separately produced lots of caturra and bourbon. Shared Source paid Q1575 per quintal which was 25% above the market price at the time, in the local currency, which is about as “direct trade” as coffee purchasing can possibly be. 

Our coffee exporting pal Andrew (from Shared Source) first met Arlam in 2016 when he was working as a technician and agronomist for Anacafe which is Guatemala’s national coffee organisation. Attending several of the same trips unknowingly to meet small cooperatives and associations in Huehuetenango, Arlam and Andrew eventually connected and found a very close alignment in organic farming practices and high quality coffee from the Huehue region.

Arlam’s wife, Yoesmi, was the original connection point in this relationship, as the first few lots produced came from Yoesmi’s family farm. These days Yoesmi is not actively involved in coffee production but remains in touch with Arlam’s work and is a keen supporter of their shared success in quality.

As a diligent and focussed quality coffee producer, Arlam is a fairly serious guy with dreams of transitioning his plots of land to fully organic agriculture, but alas, those dreams have evolved into what's known as “production limpio” which translates to “clean production”. This term gives weight to supplementing small amounts of conventional fertilisers with organic products and no herbicides or fungicides used for soil health and fertility reasons. 

Additionally he filters his “agua miels” (polluted water from washing coffee) so that his total water consumption at the farm is less than the average local producer, meaning he can re use an amount of filtered water in future, helping to keep costs down and one foot in the door of further sustainability measures. 

Shared Source last visited Arlam in March 2023 after he had just installed new tanks and new channels to wash and sort cherry more thoroughly by density, not too dissimilar to the equipment practices used in Ethiopia.

The standard practice at the Aguirre processing station is to submerge all cherry fermentations, which is a practice most commonly found in Colombia these days. In wider Huehuetenango some hybrid form of fermentation is used where producers will partly submerge under water with water changed daily. We think a big part of the reason Arlam’s found such success in a crowded Guatemala coffee producing region is because of this attention to detail, looking further abroad for inspiration on different processing practices and investing in finding and sticking to methods that work best for quality reasons.

The locality of the Aguirre plots are in a township called "Agua Dulce” which is right on the Mexican border. The micro climate here is interestingly and weirdly cold and simultaneously humid. It’s a “corridor" as the locals describe it where hot air meets cold air so there’s lots of rain and a dense thick humidity that you can taste all year round. 

Arlam says his cherry more often than not will ‘Brix’ range between 19-25, which is the measurement of sugar content inside the ripe fruit, when it is ready to be picked from the tree. For reference, this is a high measurement of sugar content as far as Guatemala coffee production goes. 

We couldn't be more excited to share this gorgeous micro lot from Arlam Aguirre with you at Maker. You can find Arlam’s coffee available at all Maker locations and on our website, shipped straight to your door. 

Seasonal Espresso at MAKER

We believe that single-origin coffees can deliver quality over and above the complexity, body, and balance of an espresso blend with several different components. We are very intentional in selecting a farm traceable coffee lot each season that exemplifies the flavours typical of its variety and region, while also delivering a balance of sweetness, acidity, and body. These are our Seasonal Espressos: The Maven and The Smith. 

The Maven is typically a washed Colombian coffee, characterised by fresh fruit flavours and milk chocolate character. The producers we work with in Colombia use the traditional washed process method, which highlights the cleanliness and sweetness found in the varieties harvested. The Smith tends to be a natural Brazilian coffee and exemplifies the Brazilian terroir, which typically produces notes of hazelnut, chocolate, and brown sugar. The natural processing method imparts a subtle fruit flavour and a balanced mellow acidity. Both coffees are incredibly versatile, delivering fullness of flavour as a black or milk-based beverage. 

Introducing the (New) Smith

In 2025, we are excited to introduce grower and farm manager, Danilo Barbosa, from the Sucuri Farm in Brazil as this season’s latest iteration of The Smith. Danilo has produced a stunning lot of naturally processed Yellow Catuaí, that stays true to the profile of The Smith with a focus on quality in the cup. This coffee is a shining example of quality coffee from the Cerrado Mineiro region that tastes like stone fruit, hazelnut, and brown sugar. 

Danilo and Sucuri represent a new generation of coffee producers who are willing to challenge the status quo. By embracing technology, Danilo has brought greater precision to every step of the coffee's journey, minimising defects and enhancing the quality of the green coffee exported. As a result, the Sucuri Farm has delivered the highest quality iteration of The Smith to date with flavours that are high in clarity, well-defined, and exceptionally consistent.

The People Behind the Coffee

At the heart of Sucuri Farm’s success working closely alongside Danilo, is Deyvid Leandro, Head of Quality, who is dedicated to ensuring that every lot produced here reflects the farm's commitment to quality, consistency, and sustainability. In a recent conversation with John, MAKER’s Head of Coffee, Deyvid shared insights into the farm’s journey and the importance of innovation in today's rapidly changing climate.

Environmental Sustainability

The Sucuri Farm is located in Minas Gerais within the Cerrado Mineiro region, sitting 1450 metres above sea level. This is the largest coffee producing region in Brazil, occupying large flat plateaus with historically stable weather patterns. The topographical and environmental stability has typically produced high volumes of consistently high-quality coffee. In 2012 the Brazilian Forest Code was updated and re-implemented in this region which provided guidance on the way land is used, focusing on the conservation of native vegetation in private properties. These new guidelines improved the monitoring and compliance aspects of environmental protection for the entire region and as a result, Deyvid believes there has been a remarkable improvement in the soil quality and growing conditions within the microclimate in Cerrado Mineiro.

Sucuri Farm has taken responsible land management to the next level, boasting over 700 hectares dedicated to environmental preservation - 40% more than that which is farming land. The positive impacts of healthy indigenous flora and fauna contribute to the overall health and wellbeing of the land. Embracing initiatives such as tree planting for soil erosion prevention and beekeeping for pollination of the local area. The Sucuri Farm is surrounded by protected land with healthy soils and rich microbial populations living amongst the dense, nutrient rich environment. All of these factors together have resulted in more productive crops with higher quality fruit that is less prone to disease. With the local biodiversity of Sucuri Farm well and truly alive and healthy, Danilo and Deyvid have significantly reduced the need for pesticides in coffee production, relying instead on natural predators to keep pests at bay.

The Climate Challenge

Climate change continues to challenge coffee farmers like Danilo. Rising average temperatures and delayed rainfall has produced a narrower window of opportunity for full cherry ripeness. To combat this change, Sucuri Farm has adopted a strategy of planting multiple coffee varieties with staggered harvest periods to cleverly distribute the workload throughout the shorter picking timeframes. However, even with these adaptations, the harvests of 2024 would have been impossible without the assistance of technology. Deyvid expressed concern that if the ripening window continues to shrink, yields may continue to decrease, threatening the long-term viability of coffee farming in the region.

Innovation and adaptation is not without its challenges. Deyvid spoke about how the use of modern technology in machine-assisted-picking is looked down upon by buyers and consumers but the distinction between hand-picking and machine-picking is more nuanced than these common misconceptions. He explained that the topography of the farm plays a key role in this decision. In higher-elevation regions with uneven terrain, like Sucuri, machine-assisted-picking is not only necessary but allows for a redistribution of labour to focus on other valuable aspects, such as crop care, quality control and biodiversity management. There have also been key investments in technology at Sucuri Farm such as digital fermentation tanks that provide real-time data on sugar content and temperature which has resulted in more precise and consistent coffee processing, helping to future proof the changing climate.

The Power of Relationships

By working and connecting directly with buyers like MAKER, Danilo from Sucuri Farm is able to secure higher prices for their coffee production, allowing them to reinvest in their farming practices and explore new ways of improving quality. 

Deyvid highlighted the impact of these relationships and how they are shaping the future of Sucuri Farm. This partnership between Sucuri Farm, Southland Exports and MAKER extends beyond just the quality of the coffee. Sucuri Farm currently employs 150 people, offering wages up to three times higher than the national minimum and providing ongoing training and skill development. This has improved the farm’s efficiency in production and empowered the local community members to reinvest in the Cerrado Mineiro region, now that there is employment stability and resources for the future.

Deyvid also emphasised that these relationships with coffee roasters help preserve the identity of farmers, allowing them to tell their unique story and share the beautiful flavours of their coffees. Through collaboration and mutual respect for the entire supply chain, both coffee roasters and farmers can work towards creating a sustainable future for the specialty coffee industry.

A Shared Journey of Quality and Sustainability

At MAKER we are focused on crafting excellent coffee and committed to supporting the people that bring it to life. Our partnership with Sucuri Farm and the introduction of the new Smith is a remarkable step for our shared values of quality, sustainability, and innovation. Every cup of Smith we serve reflects the hard work and dedication of the growers, producers, and workers at Sucuri, their biodiverse land, and the relationships that make it all possible. As we continue to grow and learn at MAKER, we’re excited to bring you along for the ride, exploring new flavours, stories, and the future of coffee—one cup at a time. It is with immense pleasure and privilege that we bring you the new Smith and want to thank you for being part of the Danilo Barbosa, Sucuri Farm and MAKER Coffee story.