From Farm to Cup: A Visit to Ethiopia with Trabocca
23 January 2026
Our Green Coffee Buyer, Sadie, has just returned from a fascinating trip to Ethiopia, visiting farms and cooperatives in the Kaffa region – widely recognised as the birthplace of coffee. She saw firsthand the care, skill, and passion that go into producing exceptional speciality beans. Here are her thoughts and the story behind our Seasonal Single Origin Coffee Beans.
I was invited by Trabocca to join a field trip to south-west Ethiopia, visiting Bitta Farm alongside several other coffee producers in the region. The journey through the Kaffa and Limmu zones offered a valuable insight into Trabocca’s long-standing partnerships, rigorous quality control processes, and the vital role the company plays within Ethiopia’s specialty coffee sector.
From farm to export, the trip highlighted the importance of robust sampling systems, transparent quality evaluation, and close collaboration with cooperatives, unions and private farms. Together, these elements ensure consistency, traceability and long-term sustainability throughout the supply chain.
In addition to visiting coffee farms, the itinerary included time at Trabocca’s Ethiopian office, two dry mills, and the head office of exporter Mullege – operators of Bitta Farm. I was accompanied by Woge Berhanu, Quality Engineer for Trabocca Ethiopia and another roaster, providing a shared international perspective on quality and sourcing.
Hand sorting for defects on the drying beds
Woge Berhanu from Trabocca and myself
Woge Berhanu taking moisture level
Trabocca in Ethiopia
Life at Origin – Jimma and Limmu
Travelling to Jimma, the heart of south-west Ethiopia’s coffee region, it was clear how deeply coffee is woven into everyday life. From traditional coffee ceremonies to local cafés serving freshly brewed buna, coffee here is both cultural and communal.
We visited the Limmu Inara Cooperative Union, which supports thousands of smallholder farmers through market access, financing and quality development. While farmers are currently benefiting from strong cherry prices, rising labour and operating costs continue to present challenges for cooperatives and exporters.
Bitta Farm – A Focus on Quality and Community
Our journey continued into Kaffa, widely recognised as the birthplace of coffee, where we visited Bitta Farm. Once known mainly for commercial production, farms like Bitta have spent recent years investing in quality, sustainability and specialty markets.
Set among protected forest, Bitta Farm benefits from rich soils, high altitude and slow cherry maturation. Alongside quality improvements, the farm plays an important role in the local community – investing in housing, education, healthcare and agronomy support, while ensuring strong labour standards and worker welfare.
From Seed to Cup: Mullege
Bitta Farm is owned by Mullege, a long-established, family-run Ethiopian business and one of the country’s leading coffee exporters. As a vertically integrated operation, Mullege maintains close quality control across every stage of production, from farming and processing through to export and roasting for the local market.
This end-to-end approach helps protect quality, consistency and traceability – values that align closely with how we source and roast coffee at Ringtons.
Snapshots from the Source
Throughout the trip, I captured moments that bring the story to life – from early mornings at origin and coffee drying in the sun, to cupping sessions, shared meals and traditional coffee ceremonies. These snapshots reflect the people, places and care behind every coffee we source, and serve as a reminder that great coffee is shaped as much by culture and connection as it is by flavour.
Traditional Ethiopian Hut
Worker at Bitta Farm
Coffee drying at Bitta Farm
Worker at BItta Farm washing station
Coffee ceremony at Bitta farm
Coffee waiting for export
Bringing the Story to the Cup
Visiting Ethiopia and spending time with producers in Kaffa brought the story behind our coffees into sharp focus. Seeing the care taken at every stage – from seed to harvest, processing and export – reinforced why provenance and long-term partnerships matter so much when sourcing coffee.
Our Seasonal Single Origin Coffee Beans are a direct reflection of this approach. Carefully selected to showcase exceptional origins, each seasonal release highlights distinctive flavour profiles shaped by place, people and process. The current coffee captures the vibrancy and depth I experienced in Ethiopia, offering a bright yet balanced cup with layers of sweetness and character.
Reflections from the Trip
My visit to Ethiopia reinforced why long-term partnerships matter so much in coffee sourcing. Quality isn’t achieved overnight – it’s built through trust, transparency and shared goals over time.
Key reflections from the trip:
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Strong relationships underpin consistent quality
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Transparency and traceability benefit everyone in the supply chain
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Investment in people and infrastructure supports long-term resilience
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Ethiopian specialty coffee continues to offer incredible potential
Trips like this help ensure that the coffees we source at Ringtons not only taste exceptional, but reflect the care, skill and commitment of the people behind them.
Contact our friendly team
If you have any questions or want to talk through what this means for your business, we’re here.
T: 0800 0461 444
E: business@ringtons.co.uk
