Overview
This release represents a new exploration into sourcing coffees from the Western regions of Ethiopia. For many years, we’ve been focused solely on areas in the South, like Guji and Yirgacheffe, so we’re excited to branch out a bit with this one. Though coffees are usually blended together at centralized processing stations, we’ve seen many more single farm lots out of Ethiopia since regulation changes have allowed larger farmers to obtain export licenses.
Abdulrherman (Abdu) Ababulgu served for six years as the treasurer of a well-known cooperative in the area, Duromina (which we purchased from many years ago!), before planting his own 4 hectares of land and making the move to directly export. We’re excited to continue exploring similar Ethiopian coffees in the future that push boundaries and pave the way for increased transparency.
We’ve been consistently impressed with the complexity and clarity of flavor that this lot from Abdu Ababulgu has to offer. The acidity is bright and zippy, reminiscent of cherry limeade, yet the coffee remains silky and highly drinkable thanks to a heavy dose of honey-like sweetness. Honestly, it’s absolutely everything we love about washed Ethiopian coffees! We’re tasting: peach rings, red plum, lavender, rose, basil, wildflower honey, red vermouth, sweet tea.
Brewing
To fully bring out the more delicate stone fruit and floral flavors, we recommend grinding relatively a bit coarser and brewing at a ratio of 1:17. In our opinion, this keeps the flavors super clean and transparent.
If your brew is astringent and bitter, like over-steeped black tea - try grinding coarser.
If your brew is thin and sour, like an under-ripe peach - try grinding finer.
