Aricha, Beloya, Gethumbwini #796

[leecb]

I've really changed my mind about these African coffees! WOW.
The over-riding characteristics of fruit and acidity never really appealed to me in coffee until I tried these three. It has brought the way I taste coffee sharply into focus as the flavours are so pronounced. The acidity that I've never appreciated just helps to accentuate the fruitiness.

[CakeBoy]

Sounds lovely

[dsc]

Hi,

just got a pack of Aricha from SQM (Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia) and I have to say it's amazing. The blueberries are so pronounced it's like a freaking fruit pie! (or a blueberry muffin!). Generally fruitiness, crisp acidity and so so good.

Regards,
dsc.

[leecb]

Now you have to try the Beloya which is the same kind of thing but on speed!

[bruceb]

You are driving me crazy with these descriptions. I want some!

[Steve]

I have some Beloya in my bag for the morning can not wait. Also have some Tegu which I'm equally excited about thanks Jim and Anette.

[Gouezeri]

Did you swap that for your flat cap Steve?
Jim and Anette, I think you were robbed, I'd make sure nothing else is missing

[EspressoSquirrel]

i got to try a shot of the test roast of the beloya last week, I was a bit skeptical as i have always been a bit disappointed with Ethiopian single origins, but the flavour was amazingly rich, almost overpowering. Nothing like others i have tasted, so i will definitely be open to trying more now

[zix]

Hmmm... ethiopian single origins and disappointment. Those two concepts I have never combined. Except once, and that wasn't me who roasted them beans that time. I always thought ethiopians (the coffee beans, I mean...) were comparatively easy to roast, with quite a large "OK roast" plateau.

[Steve]

Ohhh I think there is an awful lot of very average Ethiopian out there, in fact I find them a rarity more than the norm, but when they are good they are very good.

[EspressoSquirrel]

they weren't bad roasts, and I pulled shots for others who liked them, (i also only tried about 3) It was a flavour i disliked, if i remember of the three i tried there was a grapefruit taste to all of them (i really dislike grapefruit), but they taste so distinctive compared to other countries, i was beginning to think it was all of them, silly i know. I'm very happy to be shown the light

[zix]

think there is an awful lot of very average Ethiopian out there, in fact I find them a rarity more than the norm

Steve: Do you mean the average Ethipians are a rarity, or do you mean that the good (who when found often prove to be very good) ones are a rarity?

For me, being on the consumer side, I would be very much interested to hear of how you perceive the quality of the Ethiopian beans. Since things seem to be changing over there with some kind of new system for judging quality, and the demise of SO Ethiopians (if that rumour turns out to be true), it would be interesting for all of us, I think. I am worried, though. Should I be?
For me, Ethiopian beans have become the one coffee origin I just can't do without. As single origins, and in blends.
Same thing goes for Yemeni beans, but since they have all started to grow qat or somethin, Mokha Sana'ani and others are more or less impossible to find. At least for me, as a home roaster living in Sweden.

[bruceb]

For espresso Ethiopians are the one s.o. I also wouldn't want to do without. I also love them as a base for blends.

[Steve]

Zix : I mean many Ethiopians are VERY average and the good ones are rare, but when they are good, they are VERY good.

Don't expect anything as good as for the last few years, the Ethiopian market is a mess and is being run by people that don't get or care about quality. Big changes need to happen to that market.

[fred25]

Sorry to ask a dumb question, but where are the Aricha and Beloya coffees from? (I mean retailers, not origin!) Can't seem to to find at the 'usual suspects' places, and what with those descriptors I'd love to have a sip of them!