This is a fantastic coffee, especially if you're a fan of naturals. I've been pulling it as straight espresso on two vintage spring levers, my Faema Faemina and Olympia Club. It has been delicious on both. The unmistakable aromas of strawberry and blueberry that I associate with clean naturals jump out before this even hits the grinder. In the cup, that pure fruit persists along with a bit of toffee or caramel. I adore naturals that taste like they smell, and pull well as espresso (not always easy with naturals, at least in my experience). Highly recommend picking this one up. I have enjoyed it so much as espresso that I've not tried it as brewed coffee, but I suspect this would be amazing in a Chemex.

I have a love/hate relationship with Slate, but remember this one fondly. I think the last time I had it was about a year ago. I remember the aromas being incredible and the intense fruitiness. May need to go pick up a bag now! What parameters are you using for espresso?

My parameters are pretty minimal (I don't weigh or time shots or measure group temp, for example). I'm dosing 16g in an Elektra double basket on the Oly Club, and 14g in a 51mm Pavoni double basket on the Faemina. About 8 seconds preinfusion on both machines yields a classic ristretto on the Faemina and closer to a lungo on the Club (I have found it difficult to pull smaller shots on the Club).

I hear you on the Slate love-hate. I purchased a bag of a Rawandan coffee at the same time as this Ethiopian, and it had the unfortunate potato defect that some Rawandan coffees suffer from. I found that less so as a pour over, but it was basically unusable as espresso due to the overwhelming potato odor.

Thanks for the recommendation, this sounds right up my alley. I just ordered some to try out. I know Olympia Coffee has also been roasting this for a while and it's quite delicious. Can't wait to try the Slate out.

Ha, funny you say that - I'm about to start on a bag of Olympia's version. I think Olympia also uses it as a component of their Big Truck Espresso.

I should also note that both the Faemina and Olympia Club's groups tend to run on the hotter side, and I have been less successful with this coffee on my Peppina with it's cooler group. I'm sure with more fastidious group temp management this coffee could do well on any number of machines, but I've been impressed with how easy it has been to get great shots on those first two machines I mentioned.

That's interesting. I picked up a bag yesterday at the Udistrict location. Just as explosively aromatic as I remember it being upon grinding. The barista told me they pull it as a ristretto at 20g in and 30g out. So this morning I gave it a go starting with those parameters even though I'd usually start at a 1:2 ratio. With ethiopians I often will try pulling at 198F along with higher temps. The lower temp often hits home and I preferred it with this one, as well. 15 sec preinfusion 1-3 bar, and then pulled the shot at 7 bar. I was surprised how tasty it was as a ristretto. Like you said, tastes like it smells. Lots of jammy fruit and chocolate. I pulled a couple shots and found it to be a delicate and soft profile, but very flavorful. Tomorrow I'll experiment with some other ratios.

Pulled it closer to a 1:2 today, 14.5g in, 28 out, and enjoyed it more at this ratio. I found the fruit and chocolate just popped a bit more.

Slate also has a natural Ethiopian Gedeo right now called Gelgelu, which I also find to be excellent. I have only been using it for pour over, so I can't comment how it pulls. It is more chocolately than the Kidane, but overall I would describe its taste as a rich strawberry and chocolate milkshake. If you like the Kidane, I highly recommend it.

I ordered the Adisu and the Gelgelu last week and they shipped yesterday. Can't wait to get em!