Ethiopia Hateso Guji Washed

Details

Coffee Review: 94 points

Blind Assessment: Complex, nuanced, deep. White nectarine, lavender, dark chocolate, maple syrup, tangerine zest in aroma and cup. Richly sweet structure with crisply bright acidity; very full, syrupy mouthfeel. Cocoa-toned finish supported by notes of white nectarine and maple syrup.

Notes: Produced by smallholding farmers from local landrace varieties of Arabica, and processed by the traditional washed method (fruit skin and flesh are removed from the beans before they are dried). RamsHead Coffee Roasters is a family-owned company founded by Bozeman, Montana natives Caleb and Laura Walker that specializes in direct trade microlot coffees.

The Bottom Line: A classic washed Ethiopia Guji cup with deeply expressed notes of stone fruit, spicy florals, and rich dark chocolate.

Coffee Background: The Guji Zone of Southern Ethiopia pushes up against the lush zones of Sidama and West Arsi to the north, to the Bale Zone in the east, and to the famous Gedeo Zone to the West. Given their closeness, Guji and Gedeo Zones share many crossover characteristics in coffee processing and production, resulting in similar bright, sparkly coffees with fruit and floral notes. Rather than being grown on single-producer estates (not often found in Ethiopia), coffee in the Guji Zone is almost always purchased by agents at washing stations from nearby farmers who pick from their backyards, where coffee flourishes wild as a cash crop among others such as mangos and bananas. Washing stations often pay a premium to the producer for selling ripe cherries only. Because production is on a smaller scale, producers often do not hire a mix of transient and year-round workers to pick cherries, but instead, they pick their own crops, aided by family members. Oromiffa is spoken in West Guji, with a fair sprinkling of Gedeo. Both are Semitic languages, as are most of the 82 tribal tongues spoken around Ethiopia.

Tasting Notes: Watermelon soda, sparkling white grape soda, mead, ripe Bing cherries, ripe nectarine