The Serra da Canastra is a significant mountain range in southeastern Brazil. Nestled within the Brazilian Highlands, it is known for its striking landscapes, rich biodiversity, and economic resources. The range is also the birthplace of the São Francisco River, one of Brazil's most essential watercourses.

Edson Luiz Ignacio’s farm is nestled in the renowned Serra da Canastra, a biodiversity sanctuary teeming with an impressive variety of flora and fauna. The natural habitats of this region range from imposing rocky fields to lush gallery forests, encouraging a rich tapestry of wildlife throughout. 

The soil of the Serra da Canastra is rich in nutrients, the result of the decomposition of rocks and minerals over time. These soil characteristics provide coffee plants with the nutrients needed for healthy growth and good fruit quality, as well as allowing for adequate water retention. The preservation of the local ecosystem guarantees a high quality of soil fertility and is responsible for a coffee with sensory notes that reflect the richness of the environment.

Fortunately for Edson the farm naturally repels pests and plant diseases due to the micro climate and altitude in this specific geographical position, reducing the need for pesticides and chemicals. 

Edson’s focus on regenerative agricultural practices and the use of organic fertilizers gives this natural Catucai an aromatic lift that we cannot get enough of. We’re finding a pure expression of place in each cup, filled with charming notes of pineapple, white grape and toffee-like sweetness.

Thank you to Southland who handled the logistics of getting this coffee to our shores and into our warehouse. We're thrilled to be serving this delightful lot at all Maker cafes.

This year at MAKER we’ve taken it upon ourselves to dig a little deeper in sourcing coffees that not only exemplify the quality we love to drink every day, but also tell the story of human connection in where it was grown and who is farming the land it was grown on. 

There is something to be said for the magic in truly exceptional coffee arriving to our shores here in Australia. It starts in the hands of the grower then passes through multitudes of quality check points before moving into the logistics phase which is where a high portion of the risk is posed from a wide range of factors that can affect quality. Sometimes it can be extreme fluctuating temperatures during shipping and often it can be lengthy customs or port delays interrupting a smooth transit time. It is almost as if the stars need to align at every stage of a coffees journey so that we can experience this beautiful agricultural product at its peak performance. 

Ruminating on this, we’d like to take this opportunity to personally thank Aida, Ariel, Carmen, Claudia, Flavio, Leonel, Luis, Maruja, Omar, Sandra, Segundo, Wilmar, Wilson, Yasmin, Yilmar for coming together and creating this beautiful expression of Caturra and Colombia varieties, from the town of Aponte, and Melbourne Coffee Merchants for finding and delivering this absolute gem from the Nariño region to us here at Maker. 

Contributing coffee producer Ariel Ordoñez from Aponte.

Contributing coffee producer Aida Chasoy from Aponte.

Contributing coffee producer Omar Sampayo from Aponte.

This is a coffee steeped in history and grounded in incredible quality at every stage of its journey. This small group of 15 producers are known best as the regional experts in the ‘honey’ processing method, as well as being the cultural descendants of the original Inca indigenous people from Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. The town of Aponte’s unique micro-climate of warm winds and year-round cool temperatures have benefited this producer group for many years in reaching ultra high quality coffee production. Located at upwards of 2100 meters above sea level, this is some of the highest altitude cultivated land in all of Colombia, if not the world over. 

Bringing together these unique geographical and production elements has created a beautifully expressive cup profile from this group of Aponte producers. The lush aromatics, plentiful tropical notes, and refined sugary sweetness are all underpinned by the wonderful sense of place present in the brewed coffee. This is old world heritage and new world coffee production combined with a little splash of magic to be found in every cup. 

Available now at all Maker locations and online. 

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.