Meeting with smallholders in Bensa, Sidama, Ethiopia in February 2019. Pictured, you’ll find many producers whose names you might now recognize: Nguisse Nare, Bekele Kechara, Bekele Belaychow and 2024 Cup of Excellence winner Basha Bekele. This piece is inspired by curiosities surrounding Aviary’s release 005: Bekele Belaychow as well as AVIARY#007: Mate Matiwos. To support […]
This piece is inspired by curiosities surrounding Aviary’s release 004: Lino Rodriguez as well as upcoming releases 005 and 006. AVIARY#004: Lino Rodriguez, featured in the April 2024 edition of Food & Wine Magazine, is available for pre-order through the Aviary website. To place this piece in context of the coffees that inspired it or […]
Leadership is a privilege to better the lives of others. It is not an opportunity to satisfy personal greed. Mwai Kibaki, third president of Kenya In the weeks since I published my post on the coffee industry in Kenya, I’ve had conversations with countless coffee producers, agents, and exporters in Kenya as well as roasters and […]
Corn can’t expect justice from a court composed of chickens. African proverb A comment on my recent post about technological fixes reminded me of something: In the fall of 2019, back before covid-19 or Trump’s first impeachment, Creative Mornings Cleveland invited me to speak on the topic of “Justice.” As a child, my family nickname […]