Ethiopia Natural Amhara Ayehu

Don't worry if you haven't heard of Amhara before. This is another new, developing coffee region, with just 200 hectacres of production so far, but plans to keep expanding. The parent company firmly believes in putting the well-being of the people first, and that is their first and foremost mission. Secondly, they have organic and rain forest certifications with a commitment to responsible farming.  This particular lot is natural processed wild varietals grown on the Ayehu farm. The taste of this Ethiopia is distinct. As it cools, you'll get a whirlwind of flavors flashing through your mouth. orange, lemon, strawberry... it's like eating a handful of sweet-tarts. There's a chocolate creamy background and raspberry/red berry in the forefront. Sweet with flashes of tart and flashes of several different fruity flavors. Gentle, soft in the mouth, reasonably full body, no earthiness, few defects. It's pretty thin bodied and the flavors are in the background. It's not as intense of an Ethiopia as some of the ones we have carried before.

This bean is for light roasts, not too far out of the 1st cracks and not too long of a roast. There's a window of a few degrees where it is equally tasty but different, but basically the lighter you roast it, the more of the tart fruit you get and less of the chocolate. Obviously if you take it too light you get a bit of a green/raw taste, so definitely get it fully developed through the first cracks. Take it a couple degrees beyond that to pull out more of the sweeter berry and chocolate. A couple degrees after that and it is like fruits dipped in bakers cocoa. It's been processed carefully by hand, and the quality is pretty good this year. Try a pound and see what you think.

US arrival: July 2023