Heleanna Georgalis

Dry Mill / Farm

Moplaco / Bensa Logita, Sheka, Gedeb
Country

Ethiopia
Region

Addis Abeba / Sidamo, Agaro, Yirgacheffe
Crop

December - February
Partnership

Since 2011

Exporter

Moplaco is one of the most well-known Ethiopian exporters. Under the leadership of Heleanna Georgalis, the company combines long-term relationships with growers with modern coffee processing and quality control. Moplaco owns both the farms themselves (Sheka), as well as processing stations in Sidamu and Yirgacheffe, a processing plant in Addis Ababa, a roastery, a confectionery and two cafes in the same city.

Producer

Heleanna was born to Greek parents in the city of Dire Dawa, Harar region. Due to the communist revolution, Heleanna was forced to leave Ethiopia as a child and return to Greece, where she grew up until the age of 17. She studied and worked in Spain, France and England. In 2008, she learned of the sudden death of her father Yanni and decided to return to Ethiopia to take over the management of the company.

We meet Heleanna several times a year, whether in Ethiopia to select coffees or at various coffee events. She is one of the most passionate and energetic people we know in the coffee business. Running such a large company in Ethiopia and being a woman, and a de facto foreigner, is not an easy task. However, Heleanna proves that her vision and emphasis on quality without compromise can also work in this country.

Processing

Heleanna has the opportunity to travel and visit many different growing countries. She is inspired by various processing methods that are not traditional for Ethiopia. Our favorite processing is the so-called Kenyan style washed processing. Kenya has a particularly complicated method of processing coffee, which paradoxically arose from the need to process a huge number of harvested cherries in a short period of time rather than for the sake of improving the flavor profile. This processing involves two separate fermentation phases and a long soaking phase in cold water.

The freshly picked cherries first go through a pulper and a sorting process according to density. The initial fermentation lasts 24 hours. Then the parchment beans are washed in channels and freed from the last remnants of mucilage. They are then returned to the fermentation tank, where they spend another 12-24 hours. Finally, the parchment is soaked for up to 24 hours under water. The combination of 2 fermentations and a final soaking causes more pronounced acidity and denser fruity notes.

Fun Facts

Heleanna is one of the few exporters to use static tables for sorting coffee in its processing plant. Five women sit at each table and sort only one bag of coffee (60 kg) at a time. This extremely careful sorting takes up to three hours and results in perfectly clean coffee, known as Grade 1.