Mate Mateyos’ coffee is the result of a relationship that has been built slowly and deliberately over nearly a decade. Since the 2016–2017 harvest, the team at Swift Coffee Sourcing (one of our Ethiopian sourcing partners) has worked alongside Mate and a small cohort of producers in Sidama, supporting a washing station that initially blended their coffees together. Over time, through trust, investment, and a shared focus on quality, those blended deliveries were gradually separated into smaller and smaller lots. Today, this offering from Mate’s farm in Keramo stands on its own—an uncommon distinction in Ethiopia, where most producers cultivate very small plots and deliver cherry to centralized washing stations. There, coffees are typically combined by necessity, making true single producer lots both logistically difficult and inherently rare.
That rarity is part of what makes Mate’s 2nd place finish in the Cup of Excellence in 2024 so meaningful. It reflects not just a single exceptional harvest, but years of incremental work—annual gatherings in Sidama to share knowledge, troubleshoot challenges, and refine practices on both sides. This kind of relationship-driven sourcing is rarely straightforward, but it is what allows coffees like this to exist with such clarity and individuality.
On Mate’s farm, that clarity continues through processing. For this Red Honey lot, cherries are first hand-sorted for uniform ripeness, then floated to remove lower-density fruit before being sorted again prior to pulping. The pulping itself is done carefully, calibrated to preserve a high percentage of mucilage while minimizing damage to the seed. Without mechanization, this step demands time and precision, but it sets the foundation for what follows.
After a brief fermentation, the coffee is moved to shaded drying beds where it dries slowly under controlled airflow. This extended drying period—typically several days longer than sun drying—allows for more even moisture distribution and greater stability in the final cup. Frequent turning and careful covering ensure consistency throughout the lot, resulting in the balanced sweetness and structure that define well-executed honey processed coffees.
While honey processing is now more common across Ethiopia, it remains a relatively recent addition to the country’s processing landscape. Early efforts by producers and partners helped introduce and refine the method in regions like Yirgacheffe, expanding the range of profiles Ethiopia is capable of producing today. In the context of Mate’s coffee, it serves as a tool—not to obscure origin—but to bring additional texture and depth to an already distinct expression of place.
