Ethiopia Sidamo Natural "Gerbicho Killa" Aleta Wondo

This single estate, natural process Ethiopian coffee absolutely explodes with juicy, sweet complexity. It's full of strawberry and milk chocolate with a hint of blueberry.

Arrival Date: May 30th, 2016

Acidity & Brightness: Bright

Balance & Finish: Complex with a long lingering finish

Body & Texture: Medium Body, Earthy 

Flavors: Dark chocolate, vanilla, black pepper

Grade: High Grown, Dense, Small bean size

Certifications: Shade grown, hand picked sun dried

Processing: Natural (Dry)

Varietals: Heirloom

Roasting:  We prefer our Ethiopian coffees on the light side, right around City to City Plus (light to light-medium) to really get the most out of them. Expect this to roast a bit unevenly since it's natural process, but more evenly than most other natural process coffees. You can take it as dark as Full City Plus (medium-dark) but expect the berry tones to dull bringing out more of the cocoa and sweet earth.

Recommendation:  For people who enjoy a big, juicy, complex cup.  This is an exceptional, luxurious coffee that fans of Ethiopian coffee will love.

Our Review:  We've been waiting patiently for a really great natural processed Ethiopian coffee to hit the states and our patience has paid off! We love natural processed Ethiopian coffees because they're so raw and full of flavor. The beans are left to dry for a while with the pulp of the fruit still attached in the traditional method imparting lots of complexity, textures and flavors you just can't get from a washed coffee. As far as the grading system in Ethiopia goes, this is a grade 3 which actually makes it the highest grade of natural process coffee since grades 1 and 2 are for washed coffees only. This means you can expect the beans to be consistently sized and pretty evenly roasted for natural process coffee.

First, a little bit about Aleto Wondo coffee: Tsegaye Bekele, northern California resident since 1976, was born and raised in Aleta Wondo, Ethiopia. Coffee runs in his blood; he grew up on a coffee plantation, where coffee is a ritual, a ceremony, a way of life. His first memories go back to the aroma of freshly roasted and ground Aleta Wondo coffee. After 40 years he returned to his village and felt deeply touched by the conditions of the coffee farmers. His commitment to give back to Aleta Wondo resulted in the formation of Common River, a non-profit community development organization. Aleta Wondo coffee has already proven its exemplary quality at a recently held international coffee competition; five lots from the village rated among the ten best coffees. Aleta Wondo Project goal is to increase the livelihood of coffee farmers by sustaining their own development. Since 2007, a schoolhouse was constructed, 1200 trees were planted, a community center was built and a nutrition demonstration garden was planted. This particular coffee comes from a village called "Gerbicho Killa." No, it's not the name of the next hip-hop sensation, don't worry, we were surprised too. But what it definitely is, is delicious!

When you take your first drink of this coffee, it's like biting into a huge, ripe strawberry. "Juicy" is exactly how we like to describe it, because it's just exploding with berry flavor. It's medium bright with a full body for Ethiopian coffee. It's pretty complex and the flavors can be a bit jarring if you're expecting something subtle! In order of prominence, we noted strawberry, cocoa powder, earth and a hint of blueberry. The finish is lingering with the earthy berry flavors lingering on the palatte. This exceptional coffee is not for the faint of heart, but if you're a fan of big, bold flavors, you don't want to miss it.