Ethiopia Keffa Wush Wush Limited Oxygen Natural
This coffee is everything you've ever wanted out of a natural processed Ethiopian coffee with a little extra you didn't know you needed. Limited Oxygen is similar to Anaerobic Fermentation, only cleaner and without all the boozy bite we associate with cheap wine. It's bursting with big notes of ripe blackberries, elderberry juice, grape soda and passionflower.
Holy Berry Bomb Batman! Our first offering from Wush Wush is an absolute showstopper. “Wait, isn’t Wush Wush a coffee variety, like Gesha?” Oh, it is and it’s named after the village where is was first identified, also known as Wushwush. Located in that little village is a washing station owned and operated by Dinkalem Ademe and his wife Sofiya who source their coffee from about 2500 smallholder farms in the surrounding area. All that coffee consists of naturally adapted heirloom varieties descended from the originally identified Wush Wush variety. That’s all a roundabout way of saying: this coffee is the real deal!
As exciting as that is, the Ademes and their partners at Catalyst Trade have gone one step farther, applying Catalyst’s patented Limited Oxygen Fermentation process to this particular lot. If you’re familiar with Anaerobic Fermentation, Limited Oxygen Fermentation is very similar! Catalyst explains it better than we do (see the “Farm Bio” tab for more detail), but the goal with both processes is to draw out and intensify as much inherent flavor in the beans as possible. The difference is that Anaerobic Fermentation often leaves behind boozy or vinegary flavors while Limited Oxygen results in a cup that’s significantly cleaner. We’ve cupped our fair share of Anaerobic coffees and after cupping this one, I think the best analogy is wine. Both will have a bit of a winey character, but Limited Oxygen is a well-aged wine. Delicious and intense while still smooth and clean.
Speaking of the cup, it’s hard to overstate just how amazing this coffee is! The front end is gently bright with medium to full body and a lovely creamy texture. And the flavors, oh the flavors! We got a cup bursting with juicy blackberry and elderberry accompanied by sweet grape soda and finished with passionflower. It’s big, intensely sweet and surprisingly clean. As a long time fan of natural processed Ethiopian coffee, all I can say is “where have you been all my life?”
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: December 23rd, 2022. Harvest year: 2022, packed in GrainPro
Acidity & Brightness: Zesty acidity and intense sweetness
Balance & Finish: Moderately balanced and fairly clean finish
Body & Texture: Medium bodied and creamy
Flavors: Blackberry, grape soda, elderberry juice & passionflower
Grade: Grade 1, grown at 1,850 to 1,950 masl
Processing: Limited oxygen natural processed (similar to anaerobic natural – see farm bio) and open-air dried in the sun shaded by mesh canopies
Grower: 2500 smallholder farmers| Dinkalem Ademe’s washing station
Region: Wush Wush village, Ginbo District, Keffa Zone, Ethiopia
Varietals: 75/210 and 74/212, smaller quantities of 74/110 and 74/165 and local Landrace varieties, naturally adapted from the Wush Wush variety
Recommended Roast Range: City to Full City (Light to medium)
Start at City (light) or just about 30 seconds into rolling first crack. From there, go a bit darker if desired, but we find it best not to go any darker than Full City (Medium or after the end of first crack and before 2nd crack starts). Most folks will prefer a City + or at the tail end of first crack. Lighter roasts will have more zesty acidity while medium roasts will accentuate more body and rounded sweetness. Longer rest times are recommended (72+ hours) for optimal brewing performance.
Catalyst Trade - "Approximately 2500 smallholder farmers from the surrounding area bring their cherries to Dinkalem Ademe’s washing station, where the sign above the gate says, “GENALEM GEWYERO” —GOD IS GOOD”—a motto he and his wife, Sofiya have taken for their lives. Together they are a dynamic couple dedicated to helping their communities in every way. The outgrowers in the Ginbo district are smallholders, aka “garden farmers,” so called because most of them are producing coffee in the “garden” areas around their homes, and often harvesting cherries from coffee occurring naturally on the land where they live.
LIMITED OXYGEN PROCESS The high density cherries are placed in an environment for a specifically controlled cycle where oxygen becomes limited within the environment, using various means to minimize oxygen infiltration from the outside. While the oxygen within the environment is not entirely controlled, it is indeed limited (hence the name), and the resulting fermentation is of a pseudo- spontaneous nature, meaning impacted by naturally occurring and non-manipulated environmental yeasts.
Many call this type of processing anaerobic, semi-anaerobic or even carbonic maceration. However, we think of those as misnomers since all fermentation occurs anaerobically, and carbonic maceration refers to a very specific set of controlled processes employed in a kind of wine making which are not possible to replicate in coffee processing.
Our Limited Oxygen aims to steer clear of booze and over-fermented character, and instead intensifies clarity and boosts intrinsic fruit notes and sweetness in a coffee. Over the past several seasons, we have really dialed in this processing method throughout the areas where we work in Ethiopia. Each farm, washing station and microclimate present a unique set of variables, requiring careful adaptation in order for us to hit our intended flavor profile and quality targets.
