Blind Assessment

Crisp yet sweet, cidery, intricate. Strawberry, juniper, unsweetened cocoa, rose-like flowers, a hint of fruit cider in aroma and cup. Lively, melodic acidity; plush mouthfeel. Very long, complexly expressed finish that may impress some with its flavor-saturated resonance and fundamental sweetness, while putting others off with a simultaneous drying tightness.

Notes

Most Yirgacheffe coffee is prepared by the conventional wet method, in which the skin and pulp are removed from the beans or seeds before they are dried, encouraging a cleanly high-toned, often intensely floral- and citrus-toned cup. This Yirgacheffe is a “natural” or dry-processed version, however, meaning the beans/seeds were dried inside the fruit, encouraging a deeper-toned floral and fruit character. Like virtually all Ethiopia coffees, this striking and unusual coffee is produced by villagers on small, garden plots interplanted with food and other subsistence crops. Water Avenue Coffee is a small roastery nestled next to the railway in the old Industrial Southeast quarter in Portland, Oregon. Visit www.wateravenuecoffee.com or call 503-808-7083 for more information.

Who Should Drink It

A fine variant on the dried-in-the-fruit Ethiopia style, simultaneously lyrically sweet and crisply austere.

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