Hi everyone. My name’s Paul Mc Kelvie, Adanech's husband. When I first met her more than 10 years ago I thought I had a fairly good idea what good coffee was like. I knew you had more chance of finding a twenty pound note lying in the street than coming across a coffee shop in the UK that would tempt you inside with the kind of aromas that only our European neighbours were familiar with. Enjoying good coffee was a pleasure I saved for leisurely breakfasts in Italy or Spain or somewhere at the other side of the world, but not in Scotland. Safeway, ASDA, TESCO, Nescafe and Maxwell House were my coffee suppliers and I thought of coffee pretty much in the same way as I thought of bread, milk and potatoes - essential purchases but nothing to get excited about. I guess millions of people had the same attitude - it was cool to be a connoisseur of wine or fine cuisine but anyone getting their knickers in a twist about coffee was just plain daft.

My attitude has changed quite a bit since then and I'm glad to say that things have started to improve all over the country. You can get a decent cup of coffee now in almost any city, but you still have to sniff it out. Supermarkets are jumping on the gourmet/premium coffee bandwagon and the selection of ground coffee available is increasing steadily - some of it is not too bad either. I see a couple of main reasons for coffee's new trendiness: firstly, a lot of people have travelled to places where they've had good coffee and want to be able to continue drinking it when they come home. Secondly, enterprising marketing men have tagged the coffee shop onto the fast-food industry and have made it ubiquitous. Consequently, the gourmet coffee industry, which is already well developed, continues to gain momentum at a remarkable speed. Small independent coffee shops are opening every day, each offering a unique range snacks and meals and with their own atmosphere and ambiance. At the same time, there has been a huge increase in the number of small coffee roasters, many of which have an online presence. It has never been easier to make really delicious coffee part of our everyday lives.

At Abyssinica, we plan to play an important role in making top quality coffee readily available everywhere. I have been educating myself about premium coffee for about eleven years now and have travelled widely, sampling coffee from just about all the main producing regions. There is so much variety that it is impossible to say that one country's coffee is categorically better than another's or that one particular origin is superior. However, my experience has led me to believe that, because of its extensive diversity, Ethiopia is in a world of its own when it comes to exporting coffee. It's true that some Ethiopian coffee is of an inferior quality. However, in general, Ethiopian coffee is consistently good, and the best-of-the-best is a delight. That's why we have decided to specialise only in Ethiopian coffee.

From most consumer's point of view, however, blended coffees are usually a better bet than single origins because they offer a greater complexity and fullness. This works on the principle that the sum of the whole is greater than its parts and is something I agree with as far as coffee is concerned. A few years ago, I stumbled on this phenomena by chance although it is already well documented. I had been roasting several batches of single origin beans prior to cupping and mixed all the beans I had left over in a single container. Eventually, I decided to make coffee from the mixture that I had made. To my surprise, the blend that I had unwittingly created was significantly better than the single origins that it was composed of. This was a Eureka moment for me and has had me experimenting with blending ever since. Nowadays, I consider myself quite an expert. The varied character of Ethiopian beans provides me with a palette of flavours that I cannot obtain anywhere else. When I blend coffee for Abyssinica, I'm blending it for myself, and I don't settle for second best. After many years of blending coffee, I've yet to find anyone who didn't think my coffee was one of the best they'd ever tasted.

If you roast your own beans and would like to try our single origins, you can be sure that we only stock top quality. We import directly from Ethiopia so you won't find the same beans at any other supplier, unless they've bought them from us. We have a permanent presence in Ethiopia and are not at the mercy of an Ethiopian coffee exporter for the quality of our beans.

I recommend that you try our coffee once. If you’re not happy with the taste and the value for money, you don’t have to buy it again. If you are, then you’ve found a supplier who values your business and will strive to supply you with the best coffee in the world.