Tasting a new flavor combination in coffee that reignites the excitement of my first unforgettable specialty coffee experience is something truly special. I had one of those moments during my recent trip to Ethiopia, and the first word that came to mind was Christmas. The cup revealed notes of sugared cranberries, blood orange rind brine, bay leaf, allspice, chocolate cherry cordial, and an intense sweetness that lingered beautifully—it was absolutely magical.
Inspired by the rising trend of co-fermented coffees, I wanted to explore a similar approach but with a unique twist. Only using components of the coffee cherry, we developed a cold carbonic process and inoculated it with a local yeast to speed up fermentation. This experiment went through 30 iterations before Ashenafi and I finally landed on two specific formulas that delivered the results we were looking for. In the end, I personally chose batch #2, and we’ve applied this same formula to our Iwariti project in Yirgacheffe.
If you’re interested in securing some of this limited first-year batch, I’d be happy to share more details about the process. These coffees are being sold in 30kg units, each containing two 15kg vacuum-sealed bags per box.
