Guji is a region that was pooled together with Sidamo until a few years ago. Located in the southern portion of Sidamo, Guji is now one of the zones of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia and is categorized distinctly from Sidamo or Yirgacheffe. This particular washing station is Arsosala.
It is one of the most rural remote areas imaginable. 8 hours of dusty, nearly impassable dirt roads with incredible views. Sometimes the coffee has to be packed out with horses because travel is so difficult.
Being a washed coffee, you would expect the fruit to be more subdued, but it actually has a really strong apricot and nectarine and sugary flavor. Similar to a washed Yirgacheffe, we roast it lightly, roughly 30 seconds after the 1st cracks have stopped is our sweet spot. Erring too light will make it sour. Erring too dark will make it bitter. We taste black tea, citrus, and stone fruit, with an enjoyable effervescent acidity, overall sweetness, crystal clean aftertaste. Very thin body, which to me makes it less satisfying. Overall clarity of flavor. Washed Ethiopia coffees are a lot easier and more consistent to roast than natural processed. I personally do prefer natural beans, but they are so easy to scorch, so easy to mess up in the roaster. Sometimes it's nice to throw a washed Ethiopia in and not have to worry about it as much.
US Arrival December 2022
- choosing a selection results in a full page refresh