Ethiopia – Guji

Dambi Uddo is the name of the town where this coffee is from, procured, and then processed at a privately run mill in Woreda Odo Shakiso, Western Guji. Elevation at the farms they buy cherry from range from 1850 to 2200 meters above sea level. Each lot they produce is made up of coffee from hundreds of different farmers in the region, most with only a few hundred coffee trees or less. You tend to see coffee intercropped with other fruits and vegetables, “false banana” being one the more common food staples to see planted in the region. The false banana plant has many uses, and is widely utilized for its starchy inners that are often fermented with yeast to make a bread (“kocho”), and the leaves can be transformed into roofs for houses, baskets, and more. Dry processing is the oldest coffee processing method still used, and involves drying the coffee bean and cherry whole. From pictures you see, you might think you can just dump the cherries to the beds and wait. This is not the case, and the best lots take a lot of preparation! The coffee has to be spread out to a layer depth of only a few centimeters, no more, in order to allow air flow. The coffee is turned hourly, or even more frequently, in order to facilitate even drying and keep the coffee from molding. It’s not difficult, but requires constant attention. Workers continually pull out lower quality coffee in the form of physical defects and coffee that was not harvested at peak ripeness in order to cultivate Grade 1 quality.

Fruit-forward and flavorful, this dry process lot from Dambi Uddo town pulls out fresh fruit and berry flavors and a layer of chocolate. The blueberry notes are fairly overt- that should make those of you chasing that allusive flavor quite happy! The elements I picked out from the dry fragrance were fruits backed by bittersweetness, notes of berries (blueberry…yes!), and a delicious smelling chocolate/banana mixture that leads into some molasses type sugar sweetness. Pouring hot water on the ground coffee stirs up enticing smells of chocolate-dipped fruits with a soft floral accent and some caramelized bittersweets, but the dark berry flavors really popped, with very nice blueberry note that comes off somewhat winey as the coffee cools. The fruit flavors work so well with Dambi Uddo’s juicy body, and leaves impressions of blackberry and dark cranberry juices on the palate. The coffee has moderate acidity for a natural.

You might also enjoy our Burundi, also a fruited African bean but at a medium roast level.