Ethiopia Hambela Natural

Description

ETHIOPIA HAMBELA NATURAL ORANGE FRUITS, MELONBERRY, GINGER CANDY, BLUEBERRY, PLUM This is a vibrant, luscious natural from Guji with a surprising amount of brightness. Dried apricot and ripe mango jump out first, with a tart sweetness that gives the coffee a really lively sense of acidity. Then comes this FUN melonberry candy character—juicy, a little artificial in the best possible way, and incredibly elusive. As it cools, the coffee keeps unfolding. Caramelized sugars, ripe plum, dried blueberry, and a little ginger candy start showing up underneath all that tropical fruit. Big fruit. Great acidity. Clean. BEAN DETAILS: ORIGIN: Hambela Buliye, Hambela, Guji, Ethiopia ELEVATION: Approximately 2,150–2,200 masl VARIETY: Local Heirlooms PROCESS:  Ripe coffee cherries are delivered to Hambela Buliye and dried whole on raised beds. At this elevation, conditions are cool, and the drying beds receive relatively little direct sunlight. Instead of rushing through drying, the cherries can spend approximately three to four weeks slowly drying. TASTING NOTES: Dried apricot and mango lead into tart citrusy sweetness and a huge melonberry candy pop. As it cools: plum, dried blueberry, caramelized sugar, and ginger candy. ROAST TYPE: Light Farm Level About Hambela Buliye Hambela Buliye is a natural-processing site managed by Kedir and Esmael Hassan, who also operate Hambela Dabaye and several other coffee processing sites in the region. We've been especially impressed by the consistency coming out of Buliye. The site has been producing high-quality naturals for years, working with approximately 200 registered smallholder farmers as well as coffee from the Hassan family's nearby Buliye farm. Most of the coffee delivered here comes from farmers in the surrounding kebeles of Buliye, Wamana, Borticha, Dari Rogicha, and Dabaye. Unlike many Ethiopian washing stations, Buliye produces only natural-process coffees. That's important because natural processing doesn't require the large water source needed for washed coffee. It allows a processing site like this to operate incredibly high in the mountains—right alongside the farms producing the cherry. Hambela Buliye sits around 2,150–2,200 meters above sea level. That elevation is a big part of what makes this coffee so exciting. The Process Ripe coffee cherries are delivered to Hambela Buliye and dried whole on raised beds. At this elevation, conditions are cool, and the drying beds receive relatively little direct sunlight. Instead of rushing through drying, the cherries can spend approximately three to four weeks slowly drying. That extended drying period helps build the saturated fruit and sweetness we love in natural Ethiopia while maintaining an impressive amount of structure and acidity. And that's probably our favorite thing about this year's lot. Naturals can sometimes give you all the fruit while sacrificing some of the brightness and definition underneath. This one gives you both.