Get your floral prints ready, it's washed-process Ethiopia season.
Seasonality in coffee is a somewhat complicated topic, but the harvest calendar does turn, and it adds excitement to months like May, when fresh washed-process coffees from Ethiopia start hitting our shores. In our experience, unroasted Ethiopian coffees tend to hold up pretty well over time compared to their counterparts from across the ocean. But there’s still a noticeable boost in brightness and liveliness of flavor when the new harvest comes in, and we’ve been noticing that a lot in the new coffees we’ve tasted last month.
Check out this month's Fresh List for some of our favorites!
Tropical fruit notes are always a fun thing to encounter in any coffee, and when it’s mixed with flower and lime candy notes like it is here, we can’t help but get excited.
Huckleberry Ethiopia Abdi Jebril ($21)
Floral aromas are a hallmark of washed Ethiopian coffees and this one just hit us in the face with such intensity it’s a wonder our seasonal allergies didn’t act up.
Merit Nano Genji, Ethiopia ($18)
Washed Ethiopians aren’t usually the beans we recommend to people looking for chocolate notes in their coffees, but the folks at Onyx roast this one in such a way that preserves all those delicate peach and floral notes while bringing in just a bit of cocoa at the end as well.
Onyx Ethiopia Agaro Family ($20.75)
Peach is another flavor note we love from Ethiopian coffees, and Yabitu Koba tastes like peach gummies, while still being super balanced and elegant.
Ruby Ethiopia Yabitu Koba ($18.75)
If you’re a fan of the blueberry note in naturally-processed and are down to try it in a lighter-bodied, delicate cup, this washed coffee from Kickapoo has some similar dark fruit flavors in a more tea-like body.