As you might imagine, Ethiopia being the birthplace of coffee is a distinctive and incredible factor, as its plants are the genetic roots of the Arabica coffee grown throughout the rest of the world. It's the only place on Earth where native varieties of Coffea arabica grow wild, and it's here that there's more genetic diversity than anywhere else on the planet.

Surely by now you've got an idea of ​​why this is a place we love to visit year after year, right? Our colleague Lara traveled back to Ethiopia last February to select the locally sourced lots we'll be adding to our menu over the coming months. During her adventure, she not only enjoyed the experience of walking through native forests surrounded by coffee plantations, but she also came back with many interesting things to share about this place.

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

When it comes to coffee production, Ethiopia also boasts one of the oldest traditions in the world: the coffee ceremony, making this beverage an integral part of Ethiopian life. The coffee ceremony is celebrated daily and is the most important social activity in many villages, as the natives consider it a sign of respect and friendship for their guests. In Ethiopia, it's very common for people to buy green coffee at markets and then carry out the entire process at home, from roasting to brewing in the Jebena (a traditional clay container). 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 producing countries that consumes more than half of the coffee it produces.

Since we first drank one of her coffees in 2016, this year we revisited our beloved Heleanna Georgalis, who continues to do incredible work, striving to improve quality in coffee production year after year despite the complexity and challenges constantly present in Ethiopia's coffee production and auction systems. Thanks to her work and research in the agricultural and processing areas, she continues to achieve incredible results, such as one of the batches now considered a flagship 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 cultivation. Nothing excites us more than working directly with producers who develop good practices, taking care of the details so that we can enjoy the highest quality in the cup. Transparency in countries like Ethiopia, where corruption is rife, is not easy to achieve, and a certain depth is required to avoid falling into the hands of organizations or companies that are far from our values.

We can tell you in advance that this year we will offer you 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 genuine origin can offer, to which we will never tire of returning.