Malicha Dida is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gobez Coffee, a Chicago based importer of Ethiopian green coffee, which he runs with his two sons. He came to the United States from Ethiopia in 2001 and built the company around a relationship set he has spent a lifetime maintaining.

Gobez sources directly from producers, cooperatives, and exporters across Guji, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, and Harrar, and sells to specialty roasters throughout North America. For buyers, that means lot level traceability back to the washing station, honest disclosure of what was paid at origin, and a partner who can answer a question about a harvest without making three phone calls first. Malicha's view is that the roaster and the farmer are on the same side of this trade, and that a supply chain built on that assumption produces better coffee and fewer surprises.

He speaks about origin as someone with family on both ends of the chain, and he is more interested in what a sourcing relationship looks like in its tenth year than in what it looks like at a trade show booth.