Coffee Description
When it comes to complex and far-reaching issues such as gender equity and paying prosperity prices to producers, at Joe we feel the responsibility to rely on strong logistics partners for context and insight into what sustainability looks like for all parties in a supply stream. In order for all of us to be strong and thrive, we rely on open communication so we can collectively learn how to be the best business partners we can be. The result keeps us accountable to each other and our shared future. These sourcing values led us to Artisan Coffee Imports, and we have purchased coffee from them since 2018. Ruth Ann, founder of Artisan Coffee Imports, began her connection to East Africa through an economic research project in Rwanda that led her to believe the coffee sector had the power to radically transform the local economy. This is the first year we are purchasing women grown coffee from Ethiopia through Artisan, and we are grateful for the change to learn about the coffee landscape in Jimma, where the Atnago women's cooperative is located. Though they have only organized to segregate, process, and market their coffee for the last 10 years, the group of farmers within the coop have been growing coffee for over 30 years. Through support by exporter Fahem, the farmers also receive technical assistance by agronomists who have been assigned specifically to them, as well as training and awareness building of topics related to child labor, forced labor, discrimination, and harassment. It is doubly unique to come across a washed coffee achieved by a women's group due to the capital required to staff and maintain a washing station, so it is a privilege to see an organization well-funded enough to own and operate this washing station, as well as successfully representing the producers.
Roast Level from the Roaster
Refers to the roast level in comparison with other coffees from the roaster
Light
Variety
74110
Process
Washed
Elevation
1850-2100 masl
Region
Limmu
About Atnago Women's Cooperative of Ethiopia
From a cooperative that is owned by producers, which is not commonplace in Ethiopia. One of the producer groups that delivers cherry is made up of very smallholder women farmers, and the cooperative processes, separates, and sells the coffee grown by them as women-grown. This is washed, Grade 1, and represents a level of traceability and economic transparency that is very difficult to achieve with Ethiopian coffees. The importer Artisan Coffee Imports is relatively new to purchasing coffee from Ethiopia but has a reputation for advocating for gender equity, financial transparency, and economic prosperity for producers. We have been buying coffee from women producers in Rwanda through Artisan Coffee for 7 years now, and this is the first time we have purchased a coffee from Ethiopia since 2018 due to our efforts to focus on ethics and transparency in our sourcing values.
Limmu, Ethiopia
Joe Coffee Company
Back in 2003, Joe Coffee founder Jonathan Rubinstein had a simple vision: brew high quality, delicious coffee, and serve it to the neighborhood with warm hospitality. Since their very first cafe opened 20 years ago on that cozy corner of Greenwich Village, their mission has remained the same—to share their unwavering commitment to quality coffee while creating a welcoming space for the community. Two decades later, they’ve expanded to over 20 cafes throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Westchester, along with their very own roastery in Long Island City. As New York's hometown specialty coffee company, they're proud to continue to innovate and lead as the specialty coffee movement expands.
