Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, is known for its complex, distinctly floral coffees and Nano Challa – the standout coffee of the Ethiopian harvest season – is no exception. Grown in one of the last remaining rainforests in the country, the Belete-Gera forest, Nano Challa is culled from several hundred indigenous varieties of wild coffee trees. The forest, which is traversed by wide rivers and steep slopes, gives rise to microclimates and diverse flora and fauna that contribute to Nano Challa’s light, lemon aromatic fragrance.

The Nano Challa cooperative began in 2004 in the Gera district of western Oromia with only 25 local farmers; in 2010, the cooperative purchased their own washing station -  and in a quintessential success story, achieved premiums for their coffee and repaid their loans within a year. Today, there are more than 400 farmers in the cooperative and each smallholder farmer uses planting and harvesting techniques that have been passed on from generations, hand sorting the coffee for ripeness, and drying the coffee before processing. After processing, the coffee is carefully dried again in cool, shaded areas away from the heat of the African sun.

Nano Challa was sourced by Nordic Approach, and is supported by TechnoServe, a nonprofit invested in Ethiopian coffee infrastructure. Though it would take the coffee several months to fully develop its flavors, Casino Mocca immediately purchased Nano Challa upon first taste this spring in Norway (from Nordic Approach, the sourcing company known for its exceptional quality and transparency), with founder Zoltán Kis remarking that Nano Challa was “streets ahead of all the other coffees.”