Category: Africa

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #24.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Gombe Reserve.

Recently I posted an overview of coffee from Tanzania, an east African country best known for their marketing of peaberry coffees. In the western part of the country, near the shores of Lake Tanganyika and the town of Kigoma, lies Gombe Stream National Park where researcher Jane Goodall began studying chimpanzees in 1960. This area is also the source of Green Mountain’s new Gombe Reserve coffee, via the 2,700-member Kalinzi Cooperative.

Deforestation has isolated Gombe’s chimpanzees, whose population has declined to fewer than 100 individuals, within the small national park. This severely limits their range and ability to enlarge their communities. This coffee will makes a significant contribution to the preservation of the Gombe chimps.  I can’t do any better than to quote from the Jane Goodall Institute web site:

Those who purchase this high-quality coffee are supporting cultivation of a sustainable, chimpanzee-friendly crop grown by farmers in the impoverished Kigoma region of western Tanzania. The coffee is shade-grown (meaning trees aren’t cut down). What’s more, because chimpanzees don’t like coffee beans, they don’t raid the fields, thus avoiding human-wildlife conflict — an increasing, life-threatening problem in areas where human and wildlife live in proximity.

JGI hopes the partnership with Kigoma coffee growers will result in a new leafy corridor connecting vital rangelands from which the Gombe chimpanzees have been cut off due to deforestation. The corridor will allow the chimpanzees to expand their feeding range and mingle with other chimpanzee groups, which is vital for genetic diversity and disease resistance.

By connecting the 2,700 small-scale farmers in Kigoma’s Kalinzi Cooperative with new markets and introducing new quality-control and production methods, JGI and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is helping the farmers significantly boost their income and coffee production. This gives farmers an incentive to work with JGI in the future to set aside land for the chimpanzees.

If key villages reserve 10 to 20 percent of their land, there will be an interlinked, multi-village forest reserve, providing additional habitat to chimpanzees and connecting Gombe National Park to forest reserves in Burundi.

The only thing that could make you feel better about this coffee than all that is if it were also incredibly delicious.  Folks, this coffee is!

This is a medium roast, and the beans had a sweet smell, with hints of honey, flowers, and even a little tobacco. It was a distinctively African smell, but seemed unique somehow.

With its proximity to Kenya, I think we all expected this Tanzanian coffee to have the wine-like tones so characteristic of Kenyans.  Instead, we were surprised by the little citrus kick when piping hot and the undertone of fruit that followed that was so reminiscent of an Ethiopian coffee. Finally, when cooler, came the tart wine finish.

This coffee was marvelously complex, but not jarringly so, as some Africans can be.  It harmoniously went from one flavor to the next, each nicely balanced. The bird song it evoked for us was that of the Yellow-breasted Chat: full of interesting and sometimes unusual notes, all coming from an enigmatic source. There was only one shortcoming in the Gombe Reserve — we felt it failed brewed in drip coffee maker, even using a gold filter. The loss of character was nearly complete. Please prepare this special coffee in a French press, Chemex , Eva Cafe Solo, or  vacuum pot. This is seriously good coffee — 4 motmots.

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #11

Three Ethiopian selections from Novo Coffee.

In my post about Starbucks Black Apron Ethiopia Gemadro Estate, I suggested Denver’s Novo Coffee as a source for a great variety of Ethiopian coffees.  We tried three Novo Ethiopians, and here’s what we thought.

Hache — The Hache Coop is located in Sidamo. This was one of the lightest roasts we have tried, and certainly lighter than any African coffee we have seen.  We’d describe the color as on the light side of  medium-brown, yet a few showed tiny pinpricks of oil.  The beans were fairly small, and we tried this at 9 days past the roast date, so my guess is that the oil emerged post-roast.

The smell of the beans was far less fruity than we’d expected from an Ethiopian, with only a teasing hint of fruit that is usually so characteristic of this region. Two of us thought it had a woody smell — not woodsy, but like very pleasant fresh-cut lumber, juniper was suggested by one person.  Another pegged it as smelling nutty.  With that, another panelist commented, “I don’t smell enough nuts, dare I say.”

This was a wonderfully full-bodied coffee, velvety and smooth.  Most Ethiopians are very bold and have a lot going on.  This was a less complicated coffee, but still had a background of cherry cordial candies and, when it cooled, just a hint of citrus.  Novo describes flavors of caramel, lingenberry, walnut oil, and cocoa.  None of us had ever seen a lingenberry — maybe that was the “cherry cordial” taste we picked up, and the nutty aromas were the walnut oil.

It did not mention on the Novo site whether this is a dry (natural) or wet (washed) processed bean.  Other roasters have advertised natural beans from the Hache Coop.  We usually associate dry process with a much wilder and more pronounced fruity taste, so I don’t know what to attribute the quiet elegance of this coffee to — a different process, masterful roasting, or an exceptional crop. Whatever the reason, a solid winner, and the favorite Ethiopian any of us had ever tasted.  It would make an excellent choice for somebody’s first foray into the coffees of this country, as it is restrained but still possesses the unique character of Ethiopia. 4 motmots.

Abeba — A member of the Yirgacheffe Union, Adado Coop sits close to the town of Dilla, around 400 km south of the capital of Addis Ababa. As far as we know, this is a dry process coffee. This was the coffee with the most going on, first tried 7 days after the roast date.  Like the Hache, it was a pretty light roast, with small beans.  They had the distinctive berry aroma one expects from an Ethiopian — this was tart and tangy.  There was also a spicy or peppery smell, especially when brewed.  One taster said, “My nose is tingling.”

We did not get the very citrusy pizzazz that we expected from a Yirg (described by Novo as “brilliant tangerine citrus”). The flavor remained stable from hot to cool, was medium to full bodied, with a delicate citrus flavor as well as an interesting floral tone we liked very much and struggled to identify. Novo suggests jasmine, and we also thought perhaps bergamot (although we may have been mixing up our Chinese restaurant and Earl Gray teas!). There was a lingering aftertaste which Novo described as honeydew melon, and we could in fact pick up a little Jolly Rancher flavor there. It was pretty intriguing.

The Abeba had a distinct character and was subtly assertive while still being (if we can trot out this language) approachable. A good choice for an established Ethiopian fan or an adventurous beginner. 3 motmots.

Wild Forest Tega — Kaffa.  This is the birthplace of coffee. Novo states, “As far as we know, this is the first exemplary wild forest coffee available in the U.S.”

We tried this first 11 days after roasting, the last of the three as we expected this to be the most untamed and complex of our choices, and didn’t want to go from the mellow, simple coffees of Latin America that we’d been drinking to something well removed from their straightforwardness.

With some anticipation, we opened the bag. These were larger beans, and roasted slightly darker than the other two.  To our surprise, there was no bold aroma or big fruity smells.  When ground, these beans had a rather unusual golden-orange color which also translated into the cup. The ground beans gave off a sharp, piquant smell, a bit floral?  A couple people noted a chocolate smell. I kind of thought I smelled the forest in the beans.  Sounds hokey, but it was the image that flashed in my head when I smelled them.

This coffee totally surprised us.  It was clean and bright, with no aftertaste. It was exceptionally mild, boring actually.  We tried it stronger, both in the Cafe Solo and in a French press.  It remained consistent from batch to batch; we thought a wild coffee like this might vary from pot to pot. Disappointingly, the constant was unremarkable. It was thin-tasting, with little body (sort of like tea).  It wasn’t bad, just dull. Coffee Review tasted Paradise Roasters Tega and Tula farm forest coffee, and described flavors such as orange, lavender, and pipe tobacco, none of which were evident in this coffee, presumably from nearby.  However, the reviewers also noted another lot from same farm last year was not nearly as distinctive, so perhaps there is a lot of variability. 2.25 motmots.

Novo also sells espresso roasts of the three coffees above, as well as another selection, Addis Katema from Yirgacheffe.  Novo features another origin, Panama, with nine choices, more from this country than I’ve seen offered at any other single place.  Enjoy!

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #4.

The coffee: Mark Overbay of Counter Culture Coffee was kind enough to include a bag of their Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Ambessa with my last order. Yirgacheffe is an area in the southern Ethiopian Sidamo region. Like most other Ethiopians, it is grown on small, diverse forest plots, organic and shade grown. Beans here are said to be small and elongated, with a unique flavor. This coffee is wet processed, then sun dried.

The beans: The roast was lighter than we’ve seen in other Ethiopians, with some chaff still showing in the crack of the beans, a medium roast or city/city+.

Brewed: We were expecting huge, complex flavors after the Rocket Sidamo, but that was a dry-processed coffee.  This coffee was far more subtle, with flavors than just danced on the tongue and melted away.  While most of us found it bright, clean with a touch of wine or citrus, the flavors were so fleeting it was a little hard for us amateurs to get a handle on them.  It lingered a bit, with a buttery mouthfeel.  Star[bucks]ling was the first to distinctly taste raw honey.

This coffee might be better as espresso, as indicated by messages on the Home Barista Forum. bread coffee chocolate yoga also struggled a bit to get all the fruit flavors in the cup brewing the Ambessa, although she used a Chemex and french press, not a drip.  We are sorry that we didn’t try it as espresso, and that due to our conflicting schedules we were unable to sample it until nine days past roasting.

Other opinions:
Yirgacheffe coffee is often described as having jasmine and other floral notes, and being sweet and honey-like. The Counter Culture description reads:

The pronounced lemon-blossom-honey flavor is accompanied by other tropical fruit flavors, like mango. The floral character of this coffee is overwhelming, and brings to mind roses and honeysuckle. The fruity nature and light body of this coffee make it the perfect summer coffee.

bread coffee chocolate yoga used the terms winey, tea-rose floral,  citrus, and carmelly-honey-syrupy.   Sounds like we had the elements, although they were not as pronouced as we would have expected.

A Coffee Geek forum member found lemon blossoms, roses, and honeysuckle.

Bottom line: I came across a handy reminder at Coffee Cuppers: “Great coffees come in two varieties: those which taste like coffee, and those which don’t.”  These are considered classic coffees.  We considered the Ambessa a classic coffee.  At least for us, it didn’t have a lot of unusual flavors or characteristics, but it was a very enjoyable cup. We’re rating this 3 motmots.

When to drink this coffee (field oriented): Our association with raw honey indicates this is a bright brew to enjoy after a day at the bee hives harvesting the summer crop of honey.  Do not try drinking through a bee suit.  It just plain doesn’t work.

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #2.

The main reason I launched the C&C tasting panel was because Larry of Rocket Coffee Roasters in Phoenix wrote to me and generously offered a sample for review. He sent an organic, Fair Trade Ethiopian Sidamo, roasted on May 25.  It got delayed due to the holiday weekend, and we convened our first panel on June 1.

The coffee: Most coffee in Ethiopia is grown in shade, at least half in medium or heavy shade. I’m pretty sure all Ethiopian organic/FT coffees are from the Oromia cooperative, and all their coffees are said to be forest-grown. This is a dry-processed bean — I believe all the Ethiopians I’ve tasted so far have been washed. The dry processed beans are supposed to have more body and earthiness than their counterparts.

The beans: The roast looked a bit past full city, with a mix of some lighter beans in with the dark. For the life of me, I could not place the smell of the beans when we opened the bag.  Star[bucks]ling immediately said, “Cherries!” Risky Kingbird thought it smelled sweet.  I didn’t even think it smelled like coffee. It had a musty odor to me, which I later found out is not unusual in a dry process Ethiopian.  Karen (“PhillyVireo”), a former coffee vendor, immediately identified it as an Ethiopian before we told her what it was.

Brewed: Piping hot, both  Star[bucks]ling and Risky Kingbird thought it had a tea-llike taste. “It’s almost like having a tea bag in your coffee!” Star[bucks]ling said.  Meanwhile, I was sort of speechless.  This coffee was so distinct I didn’t know how to describe it.  It only took a minute or two before the flavors developed and we all had the same Eureka moment: Berries.  Lots and lots of full berry flavor. Risky Kingbird did not like the aftertaste, but the rest of us found it extremely nice, and very long lasting.

In a french press: None of us liked this coffee better in a french press. We found it mellower, but less distinctive; the berry flavor just didn’t come through. Several of us immediately tasted what we could only describe as cardboard (wood? paper?).  Risky Kingbird, CrackedCorvid, and PhillyVireo thought it brighter as a french press, while Star[bucks]ling and I found it heavy.

More professional opinions: Rocket describes this bean as “A true and classic representation of the best Ethiopian. Blackberries, currants and deep, dark chocolate provide exotic flavor and a medium body.”  A Sweet Marias review of a dry Sidamo described it as funky and a bit musty, or earthy with fresh leather (I think this was the “cardboard” smell/taste I detected. Coffee Review offers a nice discussion of characteristics of wet and dry processed Ethiopians.

Bottom line: Complex implies a variety of overlapping flavors, perhaps identifiable to more sophisticated drinkers.  To us, “deep” seemed a better description, lovely fruity notes that began softly, climbed in intensity, then waned gracefully, lingered pleasantly — a smooth berry symphony.  Maybe not an everyday coffee, but surely a good choice when you want something different.

We’re rating this 3.5 motmots; the average was a bit higher than that, but I can’t make any more fractional motmots.

When to drink this coffee (field oriented): Owing to the nice body and grand, fruity flavor, the Rocket Coffee Roaster’s Ethiopian Sidamo had a dessert feel to us.  Drink it after a long day in the field, during the evening’s group meeting comparing notes and compiling data around a rough wooden table, with the coffee matching relaxed, satisfied, and mellow moods.