A Response to Jody's Question

Jody Carlson asked me whether or not we cupped any great naturals on our cupping caravan.  I thought I would respond to his question as a new post, as it is an interesting question.

Jody, to my surprise, we only cupped one natural on the entire caravan cupping trip. Out of 27 coffees, we cupped the Worka natural. The Worka scored well on the whole, I gave it 86-87 points which categorizes it as a Q+ coffee. It had floral and red fruit, berries and spice on the nose. In the cup it was guava with nice balanced acidity. I would be happy to serve this coffee at Transcend. Having said that, we tasted some washed coffees which were home runs in comparison.  As I have learned on this trip, I should not have been surprised to only taste one dry processed coffee in the Sidamo and Yirgacheffe regions as they are predisposed to washing coffees there (although in Yirgacheffe, only 1/3 of the coffees produced are washed).  Obviously Harrar is very well known for its natural coffees, but that has a lot to do with the climate and the lack of water available in that part of Ethiopia.

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Frankly some of the washed coffees we tasted on this trip blew my mind.  I definitely went to school on this trip in terms of what is possible in the cup when it comes to washed coffees.  We cupped a washed coffee from the Aleta Wondo region which blew my mind.  Most of the people cupping this coffee scored it 90+ and frankly it was one of the best coffees I have ever tasted out of Ethiopia; and it was definitely the best coffee we cupped on the caravan.  But we will likely be buying a couple of beautiful coffees from Yirgacheffe and Sidamo which are washed, and possess amazing structure, flavour and sweetness.  While I enjoy a great natural - we are selling the Amaro Gayo right now - they can often be a bit difficult to manage, and can present a challenge to the roaster.  I am slowly starting to find myself being drawn away from the naturals, and being drawn more consistently towards the amazing washed coffees available, not only in Ethiopia but the rest of the coffee world.

Ethiopia is a treasure trove of coffee.  There are thousands of varietals of arabica coffee growing wild in the forests of Ethiopia which have yet to be identified.  I could spend the rest of my life only drinking Ethiopian coffee and probably never come close to experiencing all that this country has to offer.  One thing that I have learned on this trip is that there are some delicious and beautiful washed coffees and there are so many more that have staggering potential.  Like everywhere else where coffee is grown, the key to great coffee is picking ripe cherries and then processing that ripe fruit in a careful and attentive manner.  One of the issues we encountered at a few co-ops had to do with inconsistent drying techniques.  Bear in mind that these were all washed coffees, and still we found that the parchment was not properly dried.  As a result the cup quality was significantly compromised. This simply goes to illustrate the challenges the farmers and co-ops face in processing their coffee.  It isn't easy, and frankly, processing natural coffee is even more risky for farmers.  So in ending this long-winded response to your question Jody I would also refer you to the interesting and educational debate on natural vs. washed coffee over at James' blog.  If you haven't read it, give yourself an hour, it is a long read but it is worth the time and effort.  BTW, thanks for the question.