Following last week's dynamically bright and fantastic Kenyan from Peixoto, this Ethiopian coffee is interesting due to the fact that it's honey processed rather than the more common for Ethiopian Coffees, washed or natural. Honey processing kind of marries the best of both processing methods, retaining some of the more full bodied sweetness of a natural but drinking cleaner, with more flavor transparency like a washed coffee.
This one was great both as espresso and brewed, with tons or juicy red fruits in either preparation, though I cannot say I was able to distinctly pick out different flavors, though I can see Peixoto's descriptors of "strawberry, plumb, and concord grape," particularly the strawberry and red grape flavors. Acidity was relatively tame and mild, though adequately present, and overall sweetness and smoothness was the name of the game.
I brewed this one in the Hario V60, though I imagine it would do quite well in an immersion type brewer like a Clever Coffee Dripper or the Bonavita Immersion Dripper as well. I used a 1:16 ratio, with 205*F water, and a total brew time of 3:00 for a 20 gram dose.
As espresso, the coffee did have a bit more acidity, and I tended to pull shots with a slightly finer grind and 5 second preinfusion to keep it sweet. 18 grams in to nearly 40 grams out seemed to pull sweetly balanced shots, running them with 5 seconds of 2.5 bar preinfusion, 23 seconds at 8.25 bar, and then 3-5 seconds back down at 2.5 bar.
The coffee did equally well in smaller milk drinks, though I didn't quite get the strawberries and cream dessert drink like cappuccinos that so many naturally processed Ethiopian coffees do so well.
This coffee is $21.95 for a 12 ounce bag here, which isn't cheap, but shipping is included. Overall, this is another thoughtfully and skillfully roasted coffee from Peixoto that I've really enjoyed.
