Ethiopia Sidama Worku Buche Washed Decaf
Finding good decaf is hard enough, but finding traceable decaf feels like a herculean task! That makes a great coffee all the sweeter. This community lot was sourced from smallholder partner farms in the Aroressa district of Sidama. There, in the small village of Haroresa sits Worku Buche’s wet mill: Kadela. During harvest season, farmers drop off their freshly picked coffee cherry daily and Worku processes and sorts it. For this decaf, he carefully selected a Grade 2 sorting to offer a broad profile of his community’s tasty crop.
Speaking of which, this cup is quite unexpected! I expected lots of florals from a washed Sidama, but what surprised me was the lovely vanilla and cinnamon notes in this coffee. This floral and snickerdoodle combo has a real “cool spring nights and campfires” vibe. The acidity is gentle with just a dash of citrus. It’s the kind of bright touch that you don’t really notice, but you’d definitely miss it if it wasn’t there! It’s not as sweet as it sounds, more like smelling a cookie than eating it, but that makes it the perfect base for a dash of cream and sugar if that’s your thing. The flavors in my cup had great balance despite the unusual combo and a quick, clean finish. But steer clear of dark roasting – the flavors go from roasty to ashy in the blink of an eye. Keep it on the lighter side of medium and you’ll love this coffee!
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: April 19th, 2024. Harvest season: 2023-24
Acidity & Brightness: Gently bright and slightly sweet
Balance & Finish: Balanced with a clean finish
Body & Texture: Full body, creamy texture
Flavors: Plum, vanilla, cinnamon and florals
Grade: Grade 2, grown at 1850 - 2200 masl
Processing: Fully Washed and Mountain water process decaffeinated
Grower: Worku Buche | Smallholders organized around Kadela washing station
Region: Arroresa, Sidama, SNNP Region, Ethiopia
Varieties: Indigenous heirloom cultivars
Recommended Roast Range: City to Full City (Light to medium)
Start at City (light) or just in to a rolling first crack and go a bit darker as desired. We find it best not to go any darker than Full City (Medium, after the end of first crack) and our favorite roasts were ones that ended under a minute into first crack. Lighter roasts will have a touch more brightness with more clear fruit tones while still maintaining sweetness. Medium roasts will have more sounded sweetness but with less florality. Our roasts that went darker than medium had a very unpleasant ashy tone so we recommend staying medium or lighter.
Kadela Coffee - "Kadela Coffee Exporter is a family-owned business that processes and supplies Arabica coffee beans grown in Ethiopia. Kadela is named after the river found in Aroresa Woreda, Sidama region. The owner and founder, Worku Buche, has more than two decades of experience in the coffee industry in the Sidama Regional State, in addition to his experience in other business industries. He had been supplying coffee to the local market for years, and established an export company in 2021. The company currently owns five wet and one dry mill located in an area with a great volume of coffee production in the Sidama region, such as Chere, Bansadaye, Haroresa, and Hoku districts.
The company sources and exports the best types of Sidama washed and Natural coffee from partner out-grower coffee farmers. Currently, Kadela Coffee Exporter processes and supplies over 700 MT of distinctly unique, traceable, and high-quality washed and sun-dried coffee to the world market from its partner out-grower farmers’ farms. In the past two years, we have supplied the international market with coffee, and demand has exceeded the amount we are able to supply.”
De La Finca Coffee - "Grown at elevations of 1850 to 2200 meters, the beans thrived in favorable conditions before being harvested and processed using the washed processing method. Once processed, the coffee beans embarked on the voyage to Vera Cruz, Mexico, where they reached Descamex, a renowned mountain water decaffeination facility. The beans were meticulously steamed to extract the caffeine under controlled conditions measuring the flow, temperature, pressure, and vacuum carefully to ensure the preservation of flavor and quality. After the decaffeination process was completed, the beans underwent a gentle drying and polishing process before being shipped to their final destination.”
