Ethiopia – Guji

The coffee comes from small holder farmers in Kebele (town) Buku Sayisa, Guji Zone, a region of very altitude that ranges from 2100 to 2300 meters above sea level. These lots are made up of coffee from several hundred different farmers, most with only a couple hundred coffee trees or less. The people in this region are known as Guji Oromo, and coffee farming has been a core part of the culture in the highland areas for many years. It’s a distinct coffee from Yirga Cheffe, and Sidamo. Geographically, culturally, and in terms of cup flavors, these southern coffees have a different flavor profile while maintaining the same general characteristics; in the case of natural process, fruited, and aromatic.

Dark fruit notes and strong spiced aspects flourish in the dry fragrance, with accents of berry and ripe mango, cinnamon and cardamom spices, and a honey sweetness underneath. The wetted crust smells very sweet, with potent aromatics too. Our light roasts had a scent of ripe fruits and honey raised in the steam, along with herbal/floral accent notes that add a complex layer within. The cup complexity tops our list, one of the biggest factors playing into that being fruit flavors and potent aromatics. The fruits are berry-like in the brew, with a juicy plumpness in mouthfeel. Flavors or blueberry and cooked peach bring out “pie filling” aspects in the profile, with top note accents of red berry juice, mixed melon salad, cantaloupe, with some green honeydew in the finish. The fragrant aroma compliments the ripe berry notes, such as perfumed aspects of fresh rue herb that have a floral element to them. I am impressed by our medium roast of this Ethiopian- a blackberry flavor that pushed through heavier roast tones of dark cocoa, and rustic cacao. Acidity is rounded off a bit, but I didn’t feel like it was missing with the juicy fruit accents lending to an acidic impression.