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Reko Espresso is a washed coffee (albeit with a long fermentation time, similar to a pulp natural), sourced from heirloom varietals scattered amongst 800 or so small farms in the Kochere region of Ethiopia, roasted two ways, the drip version likely being a slightly lighter roast. This roast appears close to a city/city + range with some retained bean surface texture, the beans are mixed in size and on the smaller screen size. The whole bean fragrance is heady dark caramels and toast with the ground bean fragrance being more savory, with touches of baking spice and orange peel. A sensation not unlike the savory citrus found in Asian orange chicken sauces. Fortunately, in the cup, the savory note is completely replaced with a variety of deeply sweet citrus/marmalade notes. The whole bean and ground aroma don't translate and it's a rather surprising revelation to find these delicate citrus notes devoid of the savory backbone.

Pulled via their recommendations on the modified Linea (needle valve pre-infusion control) and MonoCon (Monolith Conical), 18g in, 40g out in 38 seconds with my boiler set to give me a group water temp of 204°F yields a cup of wonderful, sweet citrus, namely orange marmalade (this is no 3rd wave sour orange juice), hints of lychee and even a faint cucumber emerge. The finish resembles buttered toast. I note at coarser grinds the intensity of the citrus moves more towards key lime pie than the orange marmalade where I prefer since this also tips the balance, removing most of the minor bitter development notes, leaving the voluminous sweetness intact. The acidity energizes the shot with sparkle. The body is thin, not uncommon for a washed Ethiopian and the crema is thin and quickly dissipated. Folks seeking to tame the bright intensity of the acids and citrus can grind finer to reveal more bittering notes, perhaps the blood orange side of citrus and this also carries some bitter dark chocolate notes in the tail end. Although I quite like washed Ethiopians in milk drinks, the citrus vanishes and the interplay between the milk fat and maillard notes of the coffee blend to reveal toast, a hint of hazelnut and oodles of caramels.

This coffee would be a top tier recommendation for someone looking for a light roasted espresso with clean, candy sweet citrus notes. It hits it out of the park in terms of sweetness and is a light roast coffee done exceptionally well.

A High-Grown, Washed Ethiopian from a Legendary Roaster

This is a premium coffee roasted by George Howell, the pre-eminent pioneer of specialty coffee. It's an Ethiopian Reko, from the Kochere region, grown at high altitude.

His rendition creates a very balanced espresso when pulled at moderate heat and as a normale. It integrates sweet and fruity and sour flavors, has a rich, slightly sticky mouthfeel and an almond bitter finish. I prefer pulling it on a pump machine rather than my usual preference for levers, because it seems to improve with a short pre-infusion and fast pressure ramp up compared to the longer pre-infusion required with my lever machines.

I found this coffee challenging because it doesn't do as well with the extreme flavor separation created with my Conti Prestina, a spring lever that combines a declining pressure profile and a large intra-shot temperature decline. Another challenging aspect is the coffee's sensitivity to temperature, doing best at 199°F and being more sour below and above that temperature. This coffee does well as a straight espresso. I don't recommend it for milk drinks, because its flavors reside mostly in the mid-range, where they are masked by milk.

I began my review blind. Although it was shipped in a labeled bag and outside packaging, my wife transferred the beans for me. After trying the initial pourover I guessed the origin and processing method, and I even guessed the roaster from comments Tom had made before the distribution. Its East Coast shipment origin was revealed by its early arrivals to reviewers there and delays farther west. My wife had to stifle her laughter when I told her my guess!

I tried dialing in the coffee to the roaster's parameters of 204°F with 18 gm in and 40 gm out and got more sourness and off tastes than I liked. I had trouble balancing its sour acidity with sweetness, and although there were hints of florals at times, these were never prominent. I soon concluded that this was too harsh as a ristretto and moved to a faster flow rate and a normale brew ratio. Then I looked at other reviewers' notes to see if I could do better. John's review notes helped me drop the temperature to 199°F so I could appreciate the coffee more. After all, readers want to know how it tastes at its best.

This is not my favorite roasting style for a high-grown, washed Ethiopian. I prefer less development so I can taste more floral notes. My attempts at pulling this coffee showcased toasty flavors in the place of florals. On the other hand, this roast profile can be easier to tolerate as a daily driver for those who prefer "coffee that tastes like coffee" (a well-known descriptor by Jim Schulman). My preference for that style leans toward Guatemalans that emphasize chocolate and nutty flavors with some spice and florals at the high end.

The initial shipment was sufficiently slow that I didn't try this coffee in its earliest days. A second shipment was sent thanks to Tom's diligent support of the distro. I tried that sample at Day 4 and only started the first bag at Day 7. Here are some detailed flavor and technical notes to fill out my summary above.

I don't have complete information about the Olympia Maximatic shots but can provide this much. My best shot was 13.3 gm in and about 35 gm out, pulled at medium temperature, and with a steady narrow stream rather than drips. Keep in mind that the Maximatic has a 49mm group compared to the normal commercial standard of 58mm. The Maximatic is a "dragon" heat exchanger (HX), which means it starts hot and you cool it with a flush. I did a three second cooling flush before locking in and pulling the shot. As noted earlier, this shot was a balance of sour and fruity, smooth and rich, with a slight almond aftertaste. I didn't pick up many distinctive flavors with this shot but was impressed by its balance and mouthfeel.

The best shot on my Conti lever was five days post roast: 17.5 gm in, 50 gm out, 15 sec preinfusion, 199°F and a 50 second pull. This was smooth, sophisticated, and fruity. It had a woody aftertaste I didn't like but at this temperature the sourness and fruitiness where balanced. When pulled hotter and more sour, the sweetness had a pungency and tasted like oranges.

At Day 4 post roast, second shipment, I could discern more flavors, but the shot was more intense than I like. It was 17 gm in, 41 gm out, 45 sec preinfusion, 56 sec pull, 199°F. A moderate lemon-orange acidity structures this cup. There's a strong sweet orange aftertaste as it rolls over the tongue, with an upward curve into boysenberry sweetness. There's a moderately bitter note like dark pizza crust with a hint of almond. As the cup cools, sweetness and sour are more balanced, with a ripe persimmon flavor (without puckering), and a hint of rum. The aftertaste starts to resolve into a light rum and then something between toast and apricot, as noted on the bag. The longer aftertaste as one's mouth waters from the acidity reveals a flush of sweet nectar. A couple of minutes later, the aftertaste is like yeasty, dark pizza crust. As it approaches room temperature I can understand why the roaster included dates and apricots in the flavor description, but this is only when it's quite cool. At this brew ratio, the mouthfeel is rich, smooth and almost sticky. It comes close to salty but isn't quite there. Is this a favorite coffee? No, I've got a chocolate sweet tooth, but I appreciate its subtle and integrated flavor notes and recommend it for that reason.

Here are my initial, blind pourover notes to give you some additional sense of the flavor profile. Day 7 post roast, first shipment: When ground, the coffee's acidity is apparent in its aroma. The beans are mostly uniform in size with one bean still in parchment. I also noticed one that was a shell and had slight scorching, but these were the exception. I started with a pourover brew using a Driver metal filter at 204°F. This is a medium roast, well developed, with moderately strong acidity. It has prominent nutty flavor, good raspberry sweetness. There's also a note like baked bread and a gentle almond-like bitterness in the finish. As it cools there's a prominent note of yeasty bread. Unlike many coffees I've tried, it does not have a tobacco-like aftertaste but resolves with a gentle bitterness like dark toast. It's earthy and balanced with medium body. Further cooling reveals a moderate woody note and more sweetness emerges. As it cools toward room temperature, the acidity becomes more prominent and a powerfully sweet nectar appears under the tongue. The sweetness is reminiscent of what you would find in a high quality late harvest Reisling. At room temperature the background flavor resolves to walnuts and dark pizza crust with late harvest sweetness.