Gedeb Lalesa, Heirloom Natural

Daniel Horbat, winner of the 2019 World Cup Tasters Championship in Berlin with a perfect score and three time Irish Cup Tasting Champion, founded Sumo Coffee Roasters in the summer of 2020 alongside his partner Alexandra after the pandemic provided a crossroads moment to pursue their long held dream. The couple, a Romanian duo living in Ireland since 2012, started roasting at home on a 50 gram Ikawa sample roaster during lockdowns, pushing over 300 kilograms through the tiny machine before it gave out, then graduating to a 3 kilogram Mill City roaster before settling on a custom made Probat P12 III series as their production workhorse. The name Sumo was inspired by sumo wrestling's values of discipline, sacrifice, and respect, principles Daniel embodied during the six months of strict preparation that led to his world championship, a regimen of plain chicken and rice with no alcohol, no smoking, and no social life. Their discovery of specialty coffee's potential came through an Ethiopian coffee with floral and fruity notes in 2012, a moment that redirected Daniel's twenty year career in coffee toward the specialty end of the craft. Sumo channels a world champion's palate and a competitor's discipline into every roast that leaves their Dublin facility.