A wonderful and unique washed coffee from Ethiopia: Vibrant citrus, honeydew melon, clove, cinnamon, brown sugar sweetness

From the famed Alo Coffee Company, this coffee is a rarity; only 600 kilos of this lot were imported into the USA and we managed to secure 30 kilos.

After harvesting at between 2420-2520 meters, the ripe cherries were allowed to ferment in sealed tanks (pictured above) for 72 hours. Then, the coffee was depulped, washed, and slow-dried under shade.

You may notice the tiny bean size of this selection. This is somewhat intentional as the bean size can be the result of sorting, but at ultra-high elevation the beans simply do not get very large; they are, however, very dense due to slow maturation. Additionally, the heirloom varietal, 74158, that Alo farmers use is on the smaller side. This particular varietal of Ethiopia Heirloom is revered for its sweetness, refined flavor, and balance but the shrub does require a high elevation to thrive, usually well above 1800 meters.

For a bit more information about Ethiopia coffee, check out our blog post, Ethiopia Bound.

A beautiful dry-processed Ethiopian coffee in the classic sense: An intoxicating aroma gives way to a cup full of raspberries, lemon zest, red grape, with a syrup-like mouthfeel and transparently sweet.

From Sidama, this lot comes to us via the famed Alo Coffee which was founded by Tamiru Tadesse. Tamiru is a forward-thinking coffee producer and runs washing stations that serve numerous farmers in Sidama and Oromia. Only 300 kilos of this lot were imported into the US and we snagged only one 30 kilo box of it — a rarity that won’t last long!

The coffee is ultra-high grown with an elevation of 2400-2520 meters! Once harvested, the ripe cherries arrive at the washing station where they are sorted then traditionally dried in the sun for 16-24 days — nothing fancy here, just attention to detail and immaculate quality control.

You may notice the tiny bean size of this selection. This is somewhat intentional as the bean size can be the result of sorting, but at ultra-high elevation the beans simply do not get very large; they are, however, very dense due to slow maturation. Additionally, the heirloom varietal, 74158, that Alo farmers use is on the smaller side. This particular varietal of Ethiopia Heirloom is reveered for its sweetness, refined flavor and balance but the shrub does require a high elevation to thrive, usually well above 1800 meters.

Check out our blog post to learn more about coffee in Ethiopia, Ethiopia Bound.

Dark Fruit, Rich

The Gatomboya coffee factory is located in Nyeri, one of the premier coffee-growing regions in the world. The factory serves about 950 smallholder farmer members of the Barichu Farmer Cooperative Society. These farmers own very small plots, most of which are at about 1770 MASL.

Once the ripe cherries are delivered to the factory, they are sorted, depulped, fermented overnight before being washed and dried on raised beds for 10-12 days.

Nyeri is the historic center of Kenya’s coffee production boasting the perfect soil, elevation, and climate for coffee.

A dense cup filled with plum, raisins, bakers chocolate, cherry, cran-apple juice.