1 pound
Origin: Ethiopia
Region: Guji
Locality: Shakiso
Producer: Ture Waji
Dry Station: Dambi Uddo
Altitude: 2173 meters
Process: Natural sundried
Varieties: Gibirinna 74110, Serto 74112
Tasting notes: Strawberry, lemon candy, rose water, pomegranate.
Ethiopia Shoondhisa is a natural processed coffee from Shakiso in the Guji zone, and out of all the coffees we buy from Ethiopia each year it's the only natural. It is produced by our friend Ture Waji at the Dambi Uddo dry station, where they only produce natural sun dried coffees. They take this specialization very seriously and it shows in the cup.
Ripe cherry is grown and picked by smallholding farmers in the surrounding area under native shade canopy, and delivered to Dambi Uddo. After the delivery is sorted and weighed, the farmer is paid a fair price and the cherry is brought immediately to raised beds to dry in the sun. These coffees are seriously some of the cleanest naturals we've ever tasted, which we attribute to excellent picking and sorting, with extremely diligent and slow drying in perfect conditions. Another tidbit we find quite interesting and indicative of Ture's attention to detail is the coffee's varietal classification. Ethiopia is Arabica coffee's ancestral birthplace and therefore contains the widest spread of genetic diversity found anywhere in the world. As such, most of the coffee grown there is one of thousands of wild landraces, much of which is unclassified. The fact that Ture has gone the extra step to classify the varieties of plants growing in the area (Gibirinna 74110 and Serto 74112 for those keeping score) is another way he and his team demonstrate their professionalism and dedication to their craft.
With this year's crop of Shoondhisa we taste a clean and sparkling cup with flavors of strawberry, lemond candy, rose water, and pomegranate.