This lot is from small holder farmers in Bilida Bukisa village, Kercha, a high altitude region that tops out well above 2100 meters above sea level. One of the export partners built a wet mill here a few years back and is buying from hundreds of farmers in the surrounding villages. These farms are planted in regional, distinct strains of coffees that originally spread from the wild forest plants of western Ethiopia, to Harar in the East and to the southern districts like Guji. This lot was wet-processed, often simply called "washed coffee", meaning that after the cherry is removed from the seed, the sticky mucilage layer that surrounds the bean is removed after fermenting for 24-36 hours in water (this varies from region to region). The fermentation process breaks down the fruit, which can then be washed away with clean water, and laid out to dry on raised drying tables for around 10-12 days.
Bilida Bukisa works well at a range of roasts, offering weighty sweetness up to and syrupy fruit notes. Grinding my City roast released a scent of honey, accented by lime. Pouring hot water on the grinds pulled out a floral hint, along with notes of peach cobbler and brown sugar, aromatic and sweet. I found the sweetness to be well balanced, with soft bittering behind it, and aromatic grace notes. There's a syrupy stone fruit flavor that reminded me of our Western Ethiopia coffees (like Nano Challa, Duromina, etc), and plays off floral highlights. Fruit flavor notes make a modest impression as the coffee cools, like cooked peach, orange marmalade, and red apple. The acidic impression had a tartaric grape characteristic.
Region | Bilida Bukisa, Kercha, Guji Zone
Processing | Wet Process (Washed)
Drying Method | Raised Bed Sun-Dried
This lot is from small holder farmers in Bilida Bukisa village, Kercha, a high altitude region that tops out well above 2100 meters above sea level. One of the export partners built a wet mill here a few years back and is buying from hundreds of farmers in the surrounding villages. These farms are planted in regional, distinct strains of coffees that originally spread from the wild forest plants of western Ethiopia, to Harar in the East and to the southern districts like Guji. This lot was wet-processed, often simply called "washed coffee", meaning that after the cherry is removed from the seed, the sticky mucilage layer that surrounds the bean is removed after fermenting for 24-36 hours in water (this varies from region to region). The fermentation process breaks down the fruit, which can then be washed away with clean water, and laid out to dry on raised drying tables for around 10-12 days.
Bilida Bukisa works well at a range of roasts, offering weighty sweetness up to and syrupy fruit notes. Grinding my City roast released a scent of honey, accented by lime. Pouring hot water on the grinds pulled out a floral hint, along with notes of peach cobbler and brown sugar, aromatic and sweet. I found the sweetness to be well balanced, with soft bittering behind it, and aromatic grace notes. There's a syrupy stone fruit flavor that reminded me of our Western Ethiopia coffees (like Nano Challa, Duromina, etc), and plays off floral highlights. Fruit flavor notes make a modest impression as the coffee cools, like cooked peach, orange marmalade, and red apple. The acidic impression had a tartaric grape characteristic.
Region | Bilida Bukisa, Kercha, Guji Zone
Processing | Wet Process (Washed)
Drying Method | Raised Bed Sun-Dried
