FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers New TRADE AFRICA New

Fortune Logo

Owners of the company invested close to 40 million Br

Aug 10 , 2019
By YOSEPH MERGU ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )

With an estimated investment of 40 million Br, Melange Coffee Roasters, a family-owned coffee roaster company has commenced operations in Addis Abeba.

With an estimated investment of 40 million Br, Melange Coffee Roasters, a family-owned coffee roaster company has commenced operations in the capital.

Located around Megenagna, the company imported the machinery for 20 million Br from Turkey. Toper, a Turkish company with over six decades in the business, has supplied the roaster unit, while Hyper Mack, another Turkish firm, supplied the packing unit.

Melange Coffee has a capacity of roasting, grinding and packing 7,500Kg of coffee a day. The packing unit has a capacity of packing 1,800 bags, each containing 250gm of processed powder coffee, an hour. All processing is done entirely hands-free.

The machine uses a technology that forces hot air through a screen underneath the coffee beans so that heat is transferred throughout. The roasted beans are then cooled and packaged immediately in degassing bags.


Toper, a Turkish company with over six decades in the business, has supplied the roaster unit, while Hyper Mack, another Turkish firm, supplied the packing unit.

The roasting machine also uses afterburner, environmentally friendly technology, that is free of smoke and odour. The company operates with 40 employees and expects to add 40 more upon becoming fully operational.

Co-founded by Solomon Kassa, a Dutch citizen of Ethiopian origin, and Mulu Legesse in 2013, Melange Coffee will pack the coffee in 250gm, half kilogram and one kilogram bags. It plans to distribute the product to national and international coffee distributors and consumers.


Solomon worked at Starbucks, the giant American coffee retailer, for eight years. In total, he has 18 years of experience in the coffee industry.

"We've got a plan to come up with a standard domestic brand, and we also hope to expand into the export market,” said Solomon, who is also director of operations.


To retail its products, the company has opened two outlet shops at Megenagna and Bole. The owners also plan to increase the number of outlets to seven in the coming year.

In the long run, the company also plans to lease land from the government and have its own coffee farm, according to Solomon.

Such kinds of projects have to benefit those involved in the value chain equally, according to Hussein Mohammed (PhD), a lecturer at Hawassa University's School of Horticulture & Plant Science.

The coffee farmers are benefiting less than the collectors, the collectors are benefiting less than the exporters, and the exporters are benefiting less than the countries that receive Ethiopia's green beans and sell it to end-users by adding their own value, according to Hussein.


"This is a loss in currency,” said Hussein. "Thus, value addition has an immense benefit for the exporters and the country."

Last year Ethiopia earned 763 million dollars from the export of 230,764tn of coffee. The revenue is 70pc of the target. However, the volume is the second highest in Ethiopian history, only beaten by last year's export level. The coffee is produced mainly in Harar, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe and Limu.


PUBLISHED ON Aug 10,2019 [ VOL 20 , NO 1006]

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 4 / 5. Vote count: 1

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.



Related Posts

[ssba-buttons]

Put your comments here

N.B: A submit button will appear once you fill out all the required fields.

Editors' Pick

Exclusive Interviews

State Enterprises from Oracles to Apprentices

Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW

Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...

Agenda

Rising Costs, Inflation Threaten Insurance Industry

Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO

Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...

Agenda

BREWING DISCONTENT

Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW

Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...

Fortune News

Electric Vehicle Push Leaves Investors in the Lurch

Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO

Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...

Commentaries

Productivity Gains Depend on Bold Firms, Not Broad Reform

Few doubt that productivity growth is good for society. It generally translates into...

War on Malaria Winnable But Africa Needs a Plan to End It

Despite being preventable and curable, malaria has continued to claim African lives....

Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country's most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or two...

Editorial

Courting Foreign Buyers of Properties While Land Remains State-Owned

May 31 , 2025

It is seldom flattering to be bracketed with North Korea and Myanmar. Ironically, Eth...

A Country on Life Support Must Not Neglect Its Healers

May 24 , 2025

Public hospitals have fallen eerily quiet lately. Corridors once crowded with patient...

Researchers Churn Out Studies by the Ton. Quality Checks are Causality

May 17 , 2025

Ethiopia pours more than three billion Birr a year into academic research, yet too mu...

Ethiopia's Aid Reckoning Demands a Homegrown Rescue Plan

May 10 , 2025

Federal legislators recently summoned Shiferaw Teklemariam (PhD), head of the Disaste...

Gallery

Parliament Approves New Cabinet Members

Oct 6 , 2021

Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Incorporates Opposition Leaders Lawmakers have approved today the nominations of 22 ministers, including three opposition leaders. Two MPs have voted against, while 12 abstained...

2020 in Posterity

Jan 5 , 2021

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

Sep 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

Dec 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

Apr 26 , 2019

Sunday With Eden

A Dream Taxed to Death

Six years ago, a dear friend took a leap. He poured his life savings into building a business not for quick profits, but to create something...

The Subtler African Stories Lodged in Luxury

Every family has its ritual, one that bookmarks the year and brings everyone back to center. For ours, it...

Life Matters

The Dangers We Brew

It is unsettling how often news surfaces of everyday household items leading to accidents, some unexpected, others devastating. A recent rep...

Healing the Healers

Reliable information about the recent strike by health professionals in Ethiopia has proven elusive. The public discourse is muddied by sens...