As you can imagine, Ethiopia being the birthplace of coffee is a unique and incredible factor, since its plants are the genetic roots of the Arabica coffee cultivated in the rest of the world. It is the only place on Earth where native varieties of Coffea arabica grow wild, and it is here that there is more genetic diversity than anywhere else on the planet.

You can probably now understand why this is a region we love visiting year after year, right? Our colleague Lara traveled to Ethiopia again last February to select the direct-deal lots that we'll be adding to our menu over the coming months. During her trip, she not only enjoyed the experience of walking through native forests surrounded by coffee plantations, but she also returned with many interesting things to share about this region.

In the local language (Amharic), the word for coffee is bunn or buna, and it accounts for almost two-thirds of foreign export earnings, employing nearly 10% of the population. It is, in many ways, the lifeblood of the entire country.

When it comes to coffee, Ethiopia also boasts one of the world's oldest traditions: the coffee ceremony. This beverage is deeply ingrained in the cultural fabric of Ethiopian life. The coffee ceremony is a daily occurrence and is the most important social activity in many villages, as locals consider it a sign of respect and friendship for their guests. In Ethiopia, it's very common for people to buy green coffee beans at the markets and then carry out the entire process at home, from roasting to brewing in the jebena (a traditional clay vessel). The ceremony can last two to three hours and is certainly an experience not to be missed if you visit the country. Life without coffee is almost unimaginable in Ethiopia, making it one of the few coffee-producing countries that consumes more than half of its own production.

Since we first tasted one of her coffees in 2016, we returned this year to visit our dear Heleanna Georgalis, who continues to do incredible work, striving to improve the quality of her coffee year after year despite the inherent complexity and challenges of Ethiopia's coffee production and auction systems. Thanks to her work and research in agriculture and processing, she continues to achieve amazing results, such as one of the flagship lots at Right Side Coffee: Heleanna's Secret, which delights our palates.

Furthermore, our 2020 trip has been very rewarding in terms of discovering more people doing great work in coffee farming. Nothing excites us more than working directly with producers who implement best practices, paying attention to detail so that we can later enjoy the highest quality in the cup. Transparency in countries like Ethiopia, where corruption is rampant, is not easy to achieve, and a certain level of understanding is needed to avoid falling into the hands of organizations or companies that are far removed from our values.

We can tell you that this year we will be offering the new harvest of Heleanna Georgalis, but also other batches that you will remember from previous years and some new ones that will complete the diversity of flavors that this very genuine origin can offer, to which we will never tire of returning.