My order arrived this week from Coffee Klatch, and IMHO it's a winner. Thick, rich mouthfeel and redolent with ripe strawberry aromatics, this coffee is reminiscent of another DP Ethiopian fruit bomb, the remarkable Wondo Bonko. Makes a lovely vac pot brew, and also works well as a SO espresso/cappuccino.

For cost-conscious buyers: Klatch currently has this coffee on sale, and is offering free shipping on orders over $50.

I'm glad the Klatsh lot is good. I got some earlier this year over Ebay from a no name source. This was an emphatic bust; the coffee was a Sidamo, but not anything 90-Plus would have brought in. Perhaps the lot had expired during its travels.

In the mean time, I'm stocked with the Gerbichu Lele sold by the Coop, and that is a fine coffee both for SO or brewing. I have the remaining Bonko frozen, and compared the two. The Lele has just as much fruits and flowers, but with a little less chocolate and more cinnamon in the medium roast.

I have a sample of Tom's generic "Grade 3" DP Yrg on my roasting schedule, since I'm curious to find out how bad (or not bad) the new Ethiopian marketing system really is.

another_jim wrote:I have a sample of Tom's generic "Grade 3" DP Yrg on my roasting schedule, since I'm curious to find out how bad (or not bad) the new Ethiopian marketing system really is.

Latest update on negotiations with the ECX here: http://www.scaablog.org/.

Having the Grade 1-3 lots Q-graded as well will only be of minor help; since any Sidamo region coffee prepped with even a modicum of care will cup above 85 points. This just returns to the level we had before, say 2003.

Much more promising is the provision to resume the direct export of micro-lot coffees from specific coops, since it is these that have been a large part of the recent quality revolution. How badly will this effort be retarded by the law against exporters and coops being "vertically integrated?"

In the last week I've cupped 3 samples from the Sidamo region. All were from high quality importers and from high quality producers.
Only 1 would get better than an 85.

^^ that doesnt sound too promising. Lets hope it was a fluke or something.

Of course it had to Ethiopian coffee that gets messed with..


The Amaro Gayo from Klatch sounded great. I almost bought it this week, but I went with CounterCulture instead, to try the new-ish SO El Salv. It's on my list for next week. ITs been a couple weeks now since Ive had a good ethiopian espresso. Ive got some Guji Sidamo that I roasted myself for siphon which was very good though.

Barefoot has the Amaro Gayo as well, should anybody want to compare.

JohnB. wrote:I'd like to hear what you think of it. I've roasted two batches so far; one for vac pot & one for espresso and I really enjoyed both. Lots of blueberry, reminded me of the Beloya #9 I got from PT's earlier this year. A very sweet berry after taste that makes you want to keep coming back for more.

I've got a small batch of the Gr3 Yirg DP as well out of curiosity and to compare with last year's IMV from GCBC. I have not roasted any as yet but the fragrance of the greens are floral and very promising.

I also agree with Jim regarding this years Gerbichu Lele Sidamo DP. Mine is from GCBC so I don't know if its the same lot but it is truly outstanding coffee that reminds me of a blueberry/strawberry creamsicle. Little chocolate at light roasts but delightful balanced fresh fruit.

I don't think this years Ethiopian beans available to us are less then stellar if you choose carefully and believe the cuppers notes.

When I ran out of Idido Misty Valley, I went with the Gayo. It's totally different. The Gayo has a strong vanilla creamer flavor and accompanying silky mouthfeel, up front, that is really interesting. There are plenty of berry/blue fruit notes, but they are harder to coax out than with the Idido, at least on my roaster. The 'creamer' is really as if there's some vanilla, and heavy cream, in the coffee.