Ethiopia
Ambella - Ethiopia
250g
Cup Notes
Orange / Honey / Red currant / Peach / Honeydew suggested for espresso and filter
Terroir Best Lot
Quality Score: 89.75
when we roast
We freshly roast to order all coffees on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (excluding national holidays), and ship the same day! Cut-off time is 11:59pm (UTC+1) of the day before the roast day. *We only ship whole beans*
Details
- Quality Score
- 89.75
- Producer
- Several small farmers
- Country
- Ethiopia
- Terroir
- Guji
- Altitude
- 1900 masl
- Process
- Classic Washed - Raised Beds
- Arabica cultivar
- Ethiopian Heirloom
- Picked in
- December 2016
- Arrived in
- April 2017
- Roast profile by
- Rubens Gardelli
- Roasted on
- Self-made drum roaster
THE STORY BEHIND
Guji coffee has been receiving a lot of attention from the specialty coffee world in the past several years, and for good reason. Many privately owned washing stations have sprung up recently, in an area that has traditionally processed coffee using a natural (dry) method. The quality of these washed coffees can be outstanding, which isn’t surprising considering the area’s close proximity to Yirgacheffe.. We are therefore delighted to introduce the first coffee to the range which showcases an exceptional washed coffee from the new crop in Ethiopia. This coffee comes to us from the Ambella washing station located in the Guji zone which borders Sidama in the south. We chose this lot as we feel there are very few coffees that can better show off the potential flavour profile that can be coaxed out of this incredible raw product.
THE VARIETY
Ethiopian Heirloom, why the generic name? It's estimated that there are somewhere in-between six and ten thousand coffee varietals in Ethiopia. And due to this colossal figure, there hasn’t been the genetic testing to allow buyers to distinguish the varietal. With the cross pollination that naturally happens in the wild, the name ‘Ethiopian Heirloom’ exists as a catch all phrase to describe this happenstance. However, that really makes Ethiopian quite a mystery – and an interesting mystery with that as each village or town could potentially have a different varietal which could carry very unique properties.
Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, meaning it was only naturally found here.
THE FERMENTATION PROCESS
Washed coffees focus solely on the bean. They let you taste you what’s on the inside, not the outside. Washed coffees depend almost 100% on the bean having absorbed enough natural sugars and nutrients during its growing cycle. This means the varietal, soil, weather, ripeness, fermentation, washing, and drying are absolutely key.
Washed coffees reflect both the science of growing the perfect coffee bean and the fact that farmers are an integral part of crafting the taste of a coffee bean. When looking at washed coffees, it becomes apparent that the country of origin and environmental conditions play a vital role in adding to the flavour.
During wet processing, the pulp (i.e.the exocarp and a part of the mesocarp) is removed mechanically. The remaining mesocarp, called mucilage, sticks to the parchment and is also removed before drying. During this process, the sugars present in the mucilage are removed through natural fermentation or mechanical scrubbing. Mucilage is insoluble in water and clings to parchment too strongly to be removed by simple washing. Mucilage can be removed by fermentation followed by washing or by strong friction in machines called mucilage removers. Fermentation can be done by stacking the coffee outside or placing them under water and allowing nature to take its course. After the sugars are removed, the beans then can be taken through a secondary washing to remove any additional debris, or taken immediately to the beds for drying.
