Barrington Coffee Ethiopia Sidamo Korate Natural 2008
Along with Kenya, Ethiopia is the African country whose coffees you’re most likely to find being offered in quantity from specialty roasters in the U.S. Ethiopia is the birthplace of the Arabica bean and its coffees are considered to be some of the most exotic and unique in the world. Because the coffee trees have been both cultivated and have grown wild for so long in Ethiopia, the process of selection has long since been completed with the result being varietals that are ideally suited to the climate and geography of the country’s coffee-growing regions.
What sets the coffees of Ethiopia apart from one another is a) the regions in which they are grown, and b) the method used for milling the coffee beans.
There are several coffee growing regions, with Harrar, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe (which is actually a sub-region of Sidamo) the most prominent in terms of quality. Roasters rate the Yirgacheffe most highly, using compliments such as “no other coffee in the world has its perfumed, sweet, lemon-apricot aroma” (Terroir Coffee), “Ethiopia coffees are among the world’s most varied and distinctive, and at least one, Yirgacheffe, ranks among the very finest”, (Coffee Review), and “Yirgacheffe reaches higher and sails farther on the palate than [Sidamo]” (Intelligentsia). Yirgacheffe is a sort of coffee parallel to an Italian DOCG within a larger DOC growing zone – e.g the Barolo DOCG within the Langhe DOC zone – a subzone that has been identified over the course of time as producing a product superlative to the surrounding area in which it resides.
But alongside the region in which the coffee is grown, the method for processing it has a huge effect on the finished coffee bean. There are basically two methods commonly employed in Ethiopia: wet- and dry-processing. The methods produce two distinctly different finished coffees, and tend to be employed on a regional basis with most Yirgacheffe coffees wet-processed and most from Harrar dry-processed (coffees from Sidamo using both methods). The majority of the finest coffee cherries are sent to mills for wet-processing where it is prepared using the most modern methods available in the country. This guarantees a coffee that is bright and fresh in the cup, and preserves the delicate and floral aromas and complex flavors so highly prized by roasters. Dry-processing on the other hand involves laying the cherries out on elevated tables to dry in the sun with the coffee bean being extracted once the cherry has fully dried. The result is a coffee with a more lush fruit character and complex and slightly fermented flavors.
This Ethiopia Sidamo from Barrington Coffee continues the run of very good coffees that I’ve had from them recently, right alongside the Colombian that I recently tried. They don’t give much information on their website, although slightly more on the package than I’ve normally seen from them. The package shows the name of the coffee as “Ethiopia Sidamo Korate Natural 2008″. Unfortunately, neither the package nor the website explains what “Korate” means, so I’m assuming this to be the name of the cooperative. I’m also assuming that 2008 simply indicates the vintage that the beans are from. So the degree of information Barrington Coffee gives for this coffee is a bit mixed. I’m glad they indicate the cooperative, method (“Natural”) and vintage – especially the vintage as this is actually pretty unusual for anyone to indicate on their packaging. But the fact that they don’t state anywhere exactly what “Korate” stands for is somewhat disappointing.
Other sources that I’ve found indicate that the coffee was growing between 1850-2100 meters in the Dara Woreda district of the Sidamo region. I haven’t been able to find an indication of what variety (or varieties) this is, or still what “Korate” stands for.
Nonetheless, the coffee is one of the more outstanding that I’ve had recently. The first thing that strikes you is the aroma from the beans themselves: vivid blueberry aromas leap out of the bag and from the freshly ground beans. The aroma of the brewed coffee has vivid notes of fresh blueberry cake and whipped cream. The blueberry flavors continue on the palate, accompanied by a mix of red fruits, cherries and raspberries, a hint of 60% dark chocolate, and a distinct thread of citrus flavors. The palate has a creamy texture that serves as a great backdrop for this array of flavors. The berry notes continue through a strong finish accompanied by a hint of hot chocolate.
This coffee reminds me very much of some of the Rwandan coffees that I’ve had and have enjoyed so much. The coffees from both regions that I’ve tried have been lushly bodied and expressed vivid, deep flavors of red berries and fruits, particularly blueberries and cherries with an almost wine-like complexity.
As I keep pondering the relationship between coffee and terroir and wondering what relationships and common characteristics exist among coffees from different regions, I can’t help but find this commonality inspiring. It would be great if Barrington came out with a Rwandan coffee so that I’d have a chance to see if they employ a similar roast profile for that region’s coffees and produce a similar result. I’ve been disappointed in finding that the relationships between terroir and coffee have been almost completely unexplored in any significant way, and believe that my experiences with coffees from these two regions of Africa is a clear indication this is indeed an topic that could be fruitfully explored by someone with the knowledge and inspiration.
Related Posts:
No comments yet.