About Alula Kassa

About Buna Utopia

Buna Utopia isn't run by one person guessing at what good Ethiopian coffee should be. It's built by people on two continents who've spent their lives around this coffee and work together to get it to you honestly.

Alula Kassa, Founder (Detroit, Michigan)

Alula was born and raised in Ethiopia, where coffee isn't a product, it's daily life: how mornings start, how guests are welcomed, how a day ends. He moved to the United States at 15, studied electrical engineering, and earned an MBA from the University of Michigan. Alula oversees Buna Utopia's US side, while his wife, Jaclyn, runs the day-to-day operations, importing, distribution, and quality from the moment coffee lands in the US to the moment it reaches a customer.

Fitsum and Lily, Partners in Ethiopia

Fitsum has been Alula's best friend since childhood. He and his wife, Lily, handle Buna Utopia's work on the ground in Ethiopia, farm selection, quality testing, and logistics coordination for every order. Their work is what makes direct trade actually mean something here, not just a line on a bag.

Why It Works This Way

Most direct-trade claims come from one person on one side of the relationship, someone importing coffee they've never seen grown, or someone growing coffee with no say in how it's sold. Buna Utopia was built differently: real people on both ends, people who know each other, trust each other, and are personally accountable for their half of the chain. That's how the coffee actually gets from a farm in Yirgacheffe, Sidama, or Guji to a bag in your hands.

Read why Buna Utopia exists or get in touch about wholesale.