Description
This lot is coming from high-altitudes in the Guji Zone (Oromia), sun-dried, and sourced from smallholder farmers and/or private estates at 1800–2200 meters above sea level, featuring local landraces/heirloom varieties and vertosol soils. Guji is located in a remote and heavily forested area where many coffee communities start at around 2000 meters and cultivate upwards from there; the Guji people (part of the Oromo nation) have historically organized themselves to reduce mining and logging pressures and preserve the forest canopy. As a Grade 3 Natural, it is typically assembled as a regional blend: these coffees can come from central processing sites, large estates, or a combination where smallholder farmers (“outgrowers”) sell cherry to estates that process on-site.
The Grade 3 designation indicates a meticulous selection process, separating out coffees unsuitable for this lot. This combination results in natural coffees that taste very good and are quite clean. Buyers at this level typically find them to be of very good quality, generally less “explosive” than a Grade 1, but offering great value for the price. These beans are received throughout the harvest season, sorted by ripeness, and spread in a single layer on raised beds to sun-dry. A long drying period of 3–6 weeks is reported, depending on the weather, resulting in a final moisture content of around 11.5% in the dried fruit. The coffee is then milled locally and transported to Addis Ababa, where color sorting and repeated rounds of hand-sorting are used to finalize the export grade.
Tasting Notes: A fresh and great tasting classic Ethiopian! This is not a super fruity natural, would be considered a darker toned, lower acidity, chocolaty cup. One can tell its natural processed roots with its sweetness and thickness and its Ethiopian roots with highlights of spice & fruity/floral notes throughout the roast range. Best served in the light to medium roast range for drip brew for it will show its best balance and promote a hint of fruity/floral. Turns into a chocolate bomb at the darker roasts, more on the dark chocolate side, which would work wonderfully for espresso or cold brew. Lighter roasts have a pinch of citric acidity and wonderful aromatics, hints of red fruit that balance with a bit of semi-nutty tea like spice.
Roasting Notes: Natural processed with good prep on it, a fairly easy bean to roast. A bit higher chaff and one will notice a little two toned roasting but being tasty from light to dark, should not be a problem getting a tasty cup. Recommend starting at a nice medium roast, if you don’t like acidic and floral, error a little darker, if you love fruity floral, error a little lighter. A little longer setup really smooths out the cup, can be a little more extreme 1-2 days after roasting.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.