Blind Assessment

No hints here: The aromatics are direct, inescapable, lavish. Lushly intense blueberry, chocolate, and floral-toned honey in the aroma. In the cup the incendiary aromatics are influenced by a wine-like acidity that turns the berry and chocolate notes crisp and richly dry. The fundamental berry and floral notes linger with surprising clarity in the finish, although they are outlasted by a slight but forgivable astringency.

Notes

Most southern Ethiopia coffee is prepared by removing the fruit from the beans or seeds before they are dried (wet-processing), which produces a cleanly high-toned, often intensely floral- and citrus-toned cup. This southern Ethiopia is a "natural" or dry-processed version, however, meaning the beans/seeds were dried inside the fruit, producing a flavor profile that is lower-toned with a deep, wine-and berry-like fruit. Such high-quality dry-processed coffees from southern Ethiopia are a new development on the specialty coffee scene, substantially aided by younger enthusiasts like Novo Coffee's Joseph Brodsky, whose new small company NINE+Y PLUS specializes in collaborating with growers to develop and import exceptional small lots of such coffees. Novo Coffee itself is a quality-oriented boutique roasting company with fine coffees, an elegant package, and the slogan "Get Closer" - to coffee, as it turns out. Visit www.novocoffee.com or call 303-295-7678 for more information.

Who Should Drink It

A coffee both intense and accessible.

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