Ethiopian Sidama Natural Single Origin Coffee

Roast: Light-Medium \\\ |\\\  Region: Sidama, Ethiopia \\\ |\\\  Altitude: 2,000\\\–2,200m
Cup: Bright acidity, delicate body, caramel, vanilla, floral, berry

Every coffee plant on earth traces back here. Ethiopia is where the species was found, and it's the only place where coffee grows as part of a culture rather than as an introduced crop. More than 15 million Ethiopians make their living from it, and it remains the country's largest export.

This is a natural process coffee, which means the cherry is dried whole in the sun with the fruit still on the bean, rather than washed off first. It's the older method, it's harder to get right, and when it works it produces exactly this: berry and floral notes that taste like they were added, except nothing was.

Grown on family farms and processed at a local cooperative, from local heirloom varietals \\\— the Sidamo landrace types that have grown wild in this region far longer than anyone has been cataloguing them. At 2,000 metres and above, cherries mature slowly, and slow maturation is where the delicacy comes from.

Brew it: pour-over. Light hand, standard grind. This is a coffee to drink black, at least the first time.

Pairs with: poetry, or the first hour of the day before anyone else is up.