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Why I Chose This Coffee
Every serious roaster eventually wants a really nice Ethiopian natural in the lineup. When I went looking for one, Ethiopian coffees were heavily delayed by shipping disruptions. My importer rep tracked down one bag from another roaster's canceled order, and I bought this one without testing it first.
I'd like to say I got lucky, but I'd rather believe that almost any Grade 1 Guji natural, roasted properly, is just going to be incredible. This one is no exception. It's my nerdiest coffee, and it single-handedly sold me on floral notes in coffee. Now I speak to its wonders every Saturday to unsuspecting strangers.
The bag says vanilla, but if I'm being specific, the highest note is vanilla extract. It's almost boozy, close to medicinal, and it plays beautifully against the strong jasmine florals. The dried fig note is the syrupy sweet base that coats your mouth through it all, which makes this my most complex coffee to date.
I'd recommend this one to your coffee nerd friend, or to anyone trying to get into drinking coffee black. I've lost count of how many people have told me, "I could actually drink this black." I recommend pour over and hot brews, as I would with most Light/Medium Roasts with complex flavors. I haven't tried it on espresso yet, but send me feedback if you do!
About the Origin
Ethiopia is the birthplace of Arabica, and coffee has been part of everyday life there for centuries. This lot comes from the Arsosala washing station in the Uraga woreda of Guji, in southern Ethiopia. Arsosala was founded in 2015 and serves about 1,200 smallholder producers. Guji was considered part of Sidama until the early 2000s and is now its own region, known for high elevations and rich red soil.
Most farms here are small plots of under a hectare, closer to "coffee gardens" than fields. Producers deliver ripe cherry to the station, where it's sorted and dried whole on raised beds, rotated constantly, for 8 to 25 days depending on the weather. That's the natural process, and it's a big part of this coffee's syrupy, fruit-forward sweetness.
Region: Guji, Ethiopia
Washing station: Arsosala
Altitude: 1,800 to 1,900 masl
Variety: Heirloom Ethiopian varieties
Process: Natural, dried on raised beds
Harvest: November to January
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