Description
This lot comes from smallholder producers in the Kercha district of the Guji Zone, Oromia Region, in southern Ethiopia, and it was curated by Royal Coffee from lots selected for cup profile, physical preparation, and their potential to express well once decaffeinated. Guji was only defined as its own administrative zone in 2002 (it used to be part of Sidamo/Borena), and over the last decade it has grown into one of the most sought-after specialty origins in the world, rivaling neighboring Yirgacheffe and Sidama. The zone is named after one of the Oromo tribes, a people so tied to coffee that they have their own origin story for the plant itself.
The trees grow between 1800 and 2200 masl on Vertisol soils, planted with indigenous heirloom varieties (the classic Ethiopian landraces). The high elevation slows down cherry maturation, which builds up sugar density and complexity in the cup. Harvest runs October through December and the lot is certified organic. This is a classic Kercha natural: cherry sun-dried on raised beds, which is where those fruit-forward, ripe-fruit notes the area is known for come from. In Kercha, hundreds of smallholder farmers bring freshly picked cherry to centralized stations to keep drying and sorting nice and even.
Once in green, the coffee goes through Swiss Water decaffeination. The green coffee is hydrated so the beans expand and release their caffeine, then it is introduced to Green Coffee Extract (GCE), a concentrated solution of the coffee’s own solubles that lets the caffeine leave via osmosis while minimizing the loss of flavor compounds. Once the caffeine is removed the green coffee is re-dried and re-bagged, and the GCE is filtered through carbon to be recycled. The result is a chemical-free decaf that holds onto the character of the origin.
Tasting Notes: Green apple and raisin up front, over a base of sweet bread pastry and semi-sweet chocolate. A lighter roast pushes the juicier, fruit-forward side, with that green apple staying crisp and a touch of floral. In the middle it all rounds out: the raisin and sweet bread take center stage and the semi-sweet chocolate shows up with a syrupy body, which is where this coffee really shines. Darker leans on the chocolate and ripe-fruit tone, but push it too far and you lose the fruit and start to taste the decaf process. Low to medium acidity with good body.
Roasting Notes: A decaf that does its best work at a medium roast; shoot for about halfway between first and second crack to catch the sweet spot between fruit and chocolate. It works a little lighter or darker too, but too light and the decaf processing starts to sneak through, too dark and you lose the fruit-forward tone. Like all Swiss Water coffees, it tends to stop darkening around medium and can suddenly turn very oily, so watch the sheen and the oil coming up on the surface to mark your roast points.
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