Harar Coffee

More About Harar Coffee

Harar Coffee is a coffee shop and retailer located at Tweede Hugo de Grootstraat 22 in Amsterdam-West. The business is registered with KvK number 34328725. The shop is publicly associated with Masho Fantaye, who is named as the owner. Harar Coffee focuses on Ethiopian coffee and sells through a physical store and a webshop.

Origins and Background

The exact opening date is not publicly recorded in the available information. However, it was reported in July 2024 that Fantaye opened the shop fifteen years earlier. This points to a start around 2009. This dating remains an inference, not a confirmed year of establishment.

Fantaye grew up in Harar, Ethiopia. According to the business information, her home in her youth was situated among approximately a hundred coffee bushes. There, she learned from her parents about plant care, bean selection, roasting, and grinding. It is also mentioned that her family's coffee business dates back to her great-grandparents. That family activity was nationalized in 1978.

Assortment and Origin

The range is described as Ethiopian and single origin. This means the coffees come from a single Ethiopian region, rather than being blends. Blends are not publicly documented in the available information. The shop carries twelve coffees throughout the year, including Harar, Sidamo, Sidamo decaf, Yirgacheffe, Keffa, Abole, and Nekemte.

Technical data is available for several coffees. Jimma is described as 100% arabica, washed, Grade 1, grown at 1,800 meters, and rated with a cupping score of 87. Super Abole is listed as organic, washed, Grade 1, 1,800 meters, and with a cupping score of 92. Gesha is linked to Bench Maji, altitudes of 1,900 to 2,100 meters, Grade 1, and a cupping score of 85.

The documented origin is consistently Ethiopia. The regions mentioned include Jimma, Gima or Kaffa, the western highlands, Bench Maji, Zege, and Harar. The product pages list a medium roast for several coffees, including Jimma, Yirgacheffe, Keffa, Gesha, and Super Abole.

Sourcing and Supply Chain

According to the business information, Fantaye travels to Ethiopia one to two times a year. There, she selects beans based on aroma, taste, and feel. The available information does not mention fixed farm-level contracts or long-term direct-trade agreements with individual producers. However, collaboration with local coffee farmers and monastic communities is mentioned for Zege coffee.

The Zege project also mentions InterAmerican Coffee GmbH, the Neumann Gruppe, and the World-Habitat-Society. This project is associated with forest protection, regional development, sustainable tourism, and the preservation of monastic and art-historical heritage on the Zege peninsula.

Roasting and Processing

From July 29, 2020, Harar Coffee had its own coffee roaster according to the available business information, and roasting was done daily in small quantities. It was later reported that Fantaye had been roasting in the shop for years, but that this is no longer permitted by the municipality. The brand of the roaster, the model, drum capacity, batch size, roasting software, and a mentioned head roaster are not publicly documented.

Sustainability and Certification

The coffees are described as organically grown, with a note that they contain no pesticides. Harar Coffee purchases fair-trade coffee when sufficient supply is available. According to the product information, the decaffeinated Sidamo is decaffeinated using water, not chemical agents.

Other sustainability data is less developed. A waste policy, a policy for reduced packaging, CO2 accounting, B Corp status, Rainforest Alliance or UTZ certification, and an audited sustainability report are not publicly documented.

Store, sales, and usage

The store is located at Tweede Hugo de Grootstraat 22, 1052 LD Amsterdam. Visitors can hear the stories behind the coffees, taste them, and make a selection. The offering includes, in addition to coffee, loose-leaf tea, chocolate, accessories, tableware, milk jugs, storage tins, filters, and brewing methods.

The webshop is available in addition to the physical store. Packaging sizes are listed as 250 grams, 500 grams, 1 kilogram, and 2 kilograms. The largest package is described as being for the business market. Grinding options include whole beans, espresso, filter, percolator, and cafetière or French press.

Press, activities, and team

Harar Coffee has appeared in local and national media in various years. There are mentions from 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2024. A radio report on the reopening of the store in 2014 is also mentioned. Direct prices for Harar Coffee itself are not publicly documented.

Publicly documented activities include a reopening in 2014 with tastings, fire demonstrations, and food. There are also later mentions at events of The American Book Center, including a coffee moment on the first floor. Structured workshops, regular cuppings, barista courses, or annual community programs are not publicly documented.

The team is only briefly described publicly. Masho Fantaye is the clearly named owner. In 2024, it was reported that she or one of her children can grind and package beans upon request. Fitigu Solomon appears as an author name in several news articles, but a business role is not publicly recorded.

Disclaimer: We do our best to keep all information in this article as accurate as possible. Have you come across something that is no longer quite correct? Send a message to the editorial team at [email protected] and we'll update it!