DESCRIPTION
Easily one of my favorite Ethiopian lots of the year!
Oh man, if only they could all taste this good. Although a little pricier coffee, this cup will show what an Ethiopian Natural can achieve.
This coffee – similar to the last Hambela top lot is sourced from METAD Agricultural Development PLC (METAD). METAD is a third-generation family owned business with a rich history that began after World War II when the Ethiopian Emperor awarded Muluemebet Emiru, the first African female pilot and family matriarch, with land in the Guji and Sidama zones that has become the Hambela Coffee Estate. METAD is managed by Aman Adinew who returned to Ethiopia after many years working abroad at the executive level for multiple fortune 500 companies because he wanted to make a difference for his family and community. Through Aman’s leadership, METAD has strengthened the local community with employment opportunities including a workforce that is over seventy percent women, educational opportunities including university scholarships and sponsorship for a state-of-the-art elementary school with more than 700 students, and healthcare for employees. METAD was also first to partner with Grounds for Health in Ethiopia to implement a successful cervical cancer screening program for women within the coffee growing communities. METAD has an expanding Out-grower program designed to provide technical assistance, share modern farming equipment, and provide certification programs for more than 5,000 local farmers who are paid premiums for their cherry and second payments after coffee is sold. Quality and certification premiums have also helped METAD build roads and community centers. METAD has the first and only private state-of-the-art SCAA certified coffee quality control lab on the African continent used to train both domestic and international coffee professionals.
Tasting Notes:
A clean, smooth and exotic cup with some awesome complexities. The aroma hits that dark fruit note on the head – smells like floral blueberries and blackberries. Its body is smooth, rich and clean. The flavor has many layers of lemon-grass, berries, chocolate, and orange peel. A delicate cup – mostly going after those fruity floral and sweet tones, a little chocolaty edge to it at the darker roasts but we do not recommend roasting it dark by any means. Super light roasts are clean but much more citric, city + (light to medium) really brings forth the berry notes, a jammier body but still retains a little orange-ish acidic sparkle note. Strong medium roasts are pretty fantastic as well, balances the cup nicely, still delicate and sweet as can be but without that citric edge to it.
Roasting Notes:
Light to medium roasts are where its at 100% on this cup. If your a dark roast fan, look to some other offerings. Roasts awesomely easy for an Ethiopian Natural, even roasting but does have a bit higher chaff content. One may want to give it a couple days setup if shooting for those real light roasts. We recommend starting with a nice medium roast and adjusting to personal taste preference.
When will this be available?