OUR HISTORY
Born in the mountains of harrar in 1910 and established in 1971, our company has a long history of excellence.
He was destined to become the third generation in his family involved in coffee. He started with printing and weighing bags from the age of 12. Yanni Georgalis formed Moplaco in 1972 in Dire Dawa, exporting predominantly Harar Coffee around the world. Harar Coffee, is and will remain Moplaco's Star Brand, as we believe firmly that Harar Coffee is indisputably a coffee worth sharing and knowing. Yanni Georgalis has left the most important legacy behind him: His love for coffee and his love for Ethiopia.
Having lived abroad most of her life, Heleanna fell into coffee in 2008 through the force majeure of destiny. She has been riding the third wave of coffee through rough seas but has finally dived into the clear blue waters. Moplaco expanded both down and up the chain of coffee and now controls processing, and with it, experimentation; farming and with it, hardship; exporting with all its drama; and finally roasting, and with it fun.
We are asked often on why our logo resembles the one of Mercedez Benz so we thought it is a nice story to share. A story with weight and significance for us and the company. In fact Moplaco's Logo, stems from the Imperial symbol of Haile Selassie, Ethiopia's last Emperor. This symbol in turn symbolizes the Power of the Trinity, just like what his name meant: Haile: Power, Selassie: Trinity. It was a symbol rooted in tradition, as well as spirituality. "Moplaco" stands for Mocca Plantation Company, as Harrar coffee is known for the distinguished Mocca flavour, and at that time the company owed 1000 ha of land in the heart of Harrar. Blue, in memory of our Greek roots, in fact the original logo of Mercedez Bens was originally blue also till 1934.