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Ethiopia Guji Dur Feres Natural Organic
Named in honor of the iconic Harrar Horse brand, Dur Feres means "Wild Horse" in Amharic. We think this community blend is an excellent representation of that heritage. It's fruity, sweet and silky with notes of fresh ripe strawberry and cranberry as well lovely hibiscus and rose.
Named in honor of one the most famous coffee brands of yesteryear with its iconic Harrar Horse, Dur Feres means “Wild Horse” in Ethiopia’s national language Amharic. This community blend represents that tradition of fine coffee as well as responsible sourcing. You could call it a celebration of the partnership between producers and importers. You could also call it downright tasty coffee!
This coffee is an excellent example of well curated natural processed coffee from Guji: it’s fruity, sweet, silky and just twisty enough to keep you guessing. In our roasting, we tasted ripe strawberry and cranberry with a lovely dash of hibiscus and rose. The aroma is particularly floral! It’s a reliably tasty cup that’ll scratch that natural processed Ethiopian coffee itch without overwhelming your palette. We also recommend adding it to your blends for a pinch of fruity, funky twist.
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: December 23rd, 2022. Harvest year: 2022, packed in GrainPro
Acidity & Brightness: Moderate acidity and sweet
Balance & Finish: Moderately balanced and fairly clean finish
Body & Texture: Medium bodied and silky
Flavors: Strawberries, hibiscus, cranberries & rose sugar
Grade: Blend of Grade 1 & 2, grown at 2000-2035 masl
Processing: Natural (dry) process and sun dried on raised beds
Certifications: NOP and JAS Organic Certified, C.A.F.E. Practices
Grower: Aklilu & Biniyam Aklilu Kassa’s washing station | 335 local farmers
Region: Kellenso Mekonissa village, West Guji Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia
Varietals: Local varieties known as Kurume tulenge, and other landrace varieties
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 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 tangy acidity while medium roasts will accentuate more body and rounded sweetness. Longer rest times are recommended (72+ hours) for optimal brewing performance.
Catalyst Trade - "Our flagship community lot, Dur Feres, is a coffee we developed by popular demand and with a heck-ton of nostalgia in mind. Founder and Sourcing Director Michael McIntyre came of age as a coffee person in the early aughts when one of the greatest coffees in the world was Mohamed Ogsady’s famed Harar Horse brand (with its iconic cloth label showing a horse silhouetted against the MAO name). Coffee folks everywhere slip into nostalgia when we mention Harar Horse coffee: its thick blueberry puree and chocolate notes took the world by storm in a time when coffees weren’t as distinguished by origin characteristics as we now expect.
With the death of Mohamed Ogsady and the institution of the Ethiopian Commodities Exchange (ECX), MAO Horse coffee became a thing of the past. However, in 2016 when Michael set out to create a carefully- composed in-country blend, he knew exactly what he was going for: homage to the great coffee and producers that changed so many lives and defined so many palates, including his own. Our Dur Feres, or “Wild Horse” translated from Amharic, was born.
Dur Feres and its sister concept, Tsebel, are the foundation of our responsible sourcing program. Our goal is always to source the entire production of every site where we work, in order to give our producer partners long-term security and the peace of mind to focus on production.
These coffees are traceable and carefully curated to maintain a consistent flavor profile which performs equally well as a Single Origin offering or a blend component. As well, since we source Dur Feres and Tsebel from multiple growing regions in Ethiopia, we are able to have a rotating fresh supply of coffee landing on our partner’s doorsteps through the year.
This particular lot of Dur Feres is sourced from our long-time partner Aklilu Kassa, whose family, according to legend, built “the road into Guji.” Deeply rooted in the area, he and his family own or support a wide network of washing stations and farms, many of which are Organic Certified. Our Guji Dur Feres is drawn from several of those sites; we created a custom Catalyst blend from these coffees to the flavor profile we sought, which is always that nod to classic “Harrar Horse.”
