Blind Assessment: Sweetly herbaceous, richly cocoa-toned. Baker’s chocolate, lemon verbena, toffee, allspice, hazelnut in aroma and cup. Sweet-toned structure with brisk acidity; velvety mouthfeel. The finish leads with lemon verbena and toffee in the short, segueing to spice-toned chocolate and hazelnut in the long.

Notes: Southern Ethiopia coffees like this one are largely produced from distinctive traditional Ethiopian varieties of Arabica long grown in the region. This is a dry-processed or “natural” coffee, meaning the beans were dried inside the fruit rather than after the fruit has been removed, as is the case with wet-processed or “washed” coffees. Steady State Roasting is an award-winning small-batch roastery dedicated to the craft and care of providing specialty coffee. The company takes pride in sourcing unique, high-quality coffee direct from farmers so that customers can enjoy fine coffee at home or in the Steady State tasting room in downtown Carlsbad, California. Visit www.steadystateroasting.com for more information.

The Bottom Line: An inviting, chocolaty natural-processed Ethiopia coffee with a throughline of sweet, citrusy herb notes suggesting lemon verbena.