USD $24.00
The coffee comes from small holder farmers in Kebele (town) Buku Abel, Guji Zone, a region of very altitude that ranges from 2100 to 2300 meters above sea level. The people in this region are known as Guji Oromo, and coffee farming has been a core part of the culture in the highland areas for many years. It's a distinct coffee from Yirga Cheffe, and Sidamo. Geographically, culturally, and in terms of cup flavors, these southern coffees have a different flavor profile while maintaining the same general characteristics; in the case of natural process, they are fruited, juicy, and aromatic. The station is privately owned by local family. They work with several hundred small farmers in the surrounding villages, and also process coffee from their own farm. The level of hand sorting for coffee defects at these sites is phenomenal, and plays a big part in the quality. Unripe coffee is removed upon delivery by both floating in buckets of water and by hand, and the sorting continues at the drying tables for 2-3 weeks. Removing unripe cherries is a key step in uniformity and clean cup flavors in the final coffee.
Buku Abel is a cleanly fruited natural, accented by notes of spice and bittersweet cocoa that bring aromatic sweetness to the complex cup profiles. The fragrance of the ground coffee has some bittersweet chocolate tonality, laced with stone fruits and pear notes, and a fragrant tropical fruit note of sliced mango. The wet aroma highlights this coffee's sweetness, so saturated and intense in the steam, with layers of raw sugar, panela, cinnamon sauce, and a juicy plum note. Tropical fruits carry through to the cup with ripe, fleshy flavors that add an acidic snap to the lighter roasts. Mango and ripe papaya came to mind, followed by jellied berries trailing in the aroma. Fruit flavors are impacted by complex spice notes, such as Chai tea, cinnamon, a touch of star anise, that together bring out hints of spice fruit jam. Buku Abel's finish is exceptional too, packed with sweetness that goes the distance.