Due to a vast amount of issues currently going on in the world, for the time being we will no longer be offering our Roosevelt Ethiopia, with the last day of availability being Sunday, August 18th, 2024. 

It would be irresponsible to drop this news and not, at least briefly, discuss some of the factors at play that have caused us to come to this point.

Truthfully, we are in no way experts in these geopolitical issues, and have a cursory understanding of the things that affect us directly, and will not make claims to understand most of these completely nor have solutions for them. 

In Ethiopia, they are dealing with the fallout of unresolved conflict in the country's northern regions. Across the country, people are facing shortages of food and being forced out of their homes. Needless to say, this has been the cause of volatility in purchasing coffees from Ethiopia, and this, to us, seems to be near the bottom of the list of what should concern us about what is going on in Ethiopia. 

In addition to the Ethiopian civil war, the conflicts in and around Gaza have affected the trade routes through the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea. In addition to many other obvious escalations, there have been many attacks in the Eastern and Northern African regions, culminating in a shipping disaster.

As conflicts surrounding the Red Sea grow, the only alternative route is to travel around the southern tip of Africa, adding easily 8,000 miles to a trip (no small expense in regards to time or money). 

It is difficult to talk about the unfortunate result of all this at the end of our supply chain without feeling insensitive to the awful conditions and goings-on at the other end. Us not receiving our favorite Ethiopia green coffee feels enormously inconsequential in comparison to the weight of what many other humans live through daily. 

Because of the complexity of world events involved, we truly do not have an easy or fast answer for the resolution of these situations. The best we can do is hope for some semblance of peace to be found in these areas in the near future, and then we can all drink the coffees we know and love. 

- The Normal Crew