2006 was no doubt the year of the dry processed Ethiopians, with the Bale Kara yirgacheffe ranking as the best coffee I've ever had. It took a year of retrospect, but there it is, I've uttered those holy words. 2007 is emerging as the year of the Yemens. Right out of the gate, Coffee Emergency picked up one hell of a dark horse Yemen Mokha San'ani. A butterscotch bomb, perfectly rounded with milk chocolate, turbino sugar, dry berries & a long marzipan finish. The crema can fill-up a 2 oz cup but it settles very quickly. I found it best at low temperature: 197-198f 15-16 grams in L/M basket 1.5-1.75 oz in 27 seconds.

Thanks Abe:

I just ordered 2# of it because I'm a sucker for dry-processed Yemens and Ethiopians.

-Greg

You're welcome Greg. Those North Africans are irresistible; sign me up for the suckers club.

I find myself looking at my green stash trying to decide which Ethiopian I want to use for this weeks blend, love those dry processed African's. Last years Yemens were not to stellar, at least the ones I tried. I am glad to hear this year's crop may swing the other way.

mwahahaaa! I live in Lincoln and the bike path goes RIGHT THERE! You'll never see another pound now--it's all MINE.

Actually, for a city our size, we have an embarrassment of riches coffee-wise. Terrance at http://www.coffeecultureonline.com does my favorite (Rwandan AA), and John at http://www.cultivacoffee.com makes a killer blend in between teaching me how to roast and brew.

BTW, was that an insane price ($1275) that a 1991 Olympia Cremina went for on eBay? I may just hold out for the new Cremina or Maximatic. In the meantime, the $$ will go straight to Cultiva to make me lattes.

Eric

This is the best espresso Yemen I've ever had. It's almost the platonic ideal of yemen coffees - massively chocolate underneath, candied cherries and apricots on top, sweet as sin. There's just enough whiffs of brandy, leather and tobacco to let you know it's coffee, and not a Belgian truffle.

Pull it so ristretto that you start tapping your fingers waiting for it to finish.

After a few days of Terroir Brazil I loaded this into my grinder and pulled enough shots of it to blow my taste buds by 8 AM and give myself a massive caffeine jolt.

This is a perfect coffee for pressure profiling. I get Blueberry sugar. It's unbelievably sweet, like crushing berries. It's insane and should prolly be illegal but it ain't.

-Greg

Well it's a Yemen, and that means no two shots are exactly the same in taste. Mine is switching betwen chocolate, berries, dried fruit, and occasionally cinnamon as the dominant taste.

Many of the shots are crema all the way down; i.e. 100% crema that is stable long enough to drink. The first year of Black Cat (2003) had this occasionally, but this is the first time it's happened to me regularly.

If you're competing at the USBC, you may want to reserve some -- this one will score 4.5 + on every judge's tasting meter, and the crema "bounceback" is in the spinal tap 11 zone.

i just ordered a pound myself! hope a newbie like me can appreciate it! thanks for the tip!
-jeff

I've been roasting this at home for espresso (sc/co). Great stuff at day 5 and beyond. I find it difficult to get a really even roast on it though due to extreme variance in bean size...and probably my lack of roasting skills too.

I've REALLY been enjoying the Idido Misty Valley Yirg too. Was disappointed to see that SM's is now completely out of it.

bc