Ethiopian Sidama Natural FT Org. Gr. 3 – Fura

Description

This coffee is sourced from family owned farms organized around the Fura Cooperative located in the Shebedino district within Sidama Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region, Ethiopia.  The Fura Cooperative is a member of the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (SCFCU), an umbrella organization established 2001 to support a sustainable coffee supply from cooperatives in the Sidama region. SCFCU supports forty-six cooperatives with more than 80,000 farmer-members by providing access to financing, capacity building opportunities, and education for children.  SCFCU also has established relationships with the international coffee markets, which facilitate greater earning capacity for farmers.

Grade 3 is nothing to back away from. In the natural processed world these can be top cupping lots (this one scored nicely). The grades refer much to the appearance of the coffee and uniformity rather then the tastes. Grade 3’s tend to include some of the more wild trees and undocumented strains which make Ethiopian coffee so tasty.

Tasting Notes: A little milder example of an top notch Ethiopian; a good everyday drinker. Lighter roasts are not overly acidic. Smooth, clean and a little fuller bodied. The red fruit is clear in the cup but a little masked by the lemony floral acidity. Hints of the chocolaty undertone can be seen at light roasts but the cup finishes a little more herbal tea like in the aftertaste, not over the top and a good compliment to the floral and fruity tones. Medium roasts are smoother and lower acidity,  not quite as fruity or acidic as the light roasts but more chocolaty with that wonderful soft fruit tone still clear in the cup and a little herbal spice in the aftertaste. Dark roasts get pretty bakers chocolate like, bittersweet with wonderful aromatics. Roasty notes will dominate the cup profile into 2nd crack but it does leave a more exotic cup profile than your Central American dark roasts.

Roasting Notes: A very nice screen for a grade 3 but still a little chaff heavy. Will see a couple of different shades in the roaster but easy to get a good cup. Shoot for a light to medium roast if your an existing Ethiopian or Natural processed fan. If you have not played with these before, take it a little closer to 2nd crack than first (strong medium roast) for it will show more traditional coffee tones. Can go pretty quick from 1st to 2nd crack, make sure to keep an eye on it. Very loud first crack, much harder to miss than most.