Ethiopia Bombe Abore Natural Process

What We Love

Natural process coffees from Ethiopia are universally recognized for their stunning mixture of fruity and floral flavors. These are only achieved when producers meticulously sort coffee cherries, allowing only the ripest to fully dry and expose their flavors in the cup. We taste fresh blueberries, alongside decadent milk chocolate, finishing with a kiss of florality.

This versatile coffee can express slightly different flavors depending on your choice of brew method. Using a pourover like the Hario V60 will highlight the brightness (or acidity!), bringing forward more citrusy tones and a tart blueberry flavor. Brewing with a full immersion method like french press will result in more milk chocolate and juicy blueberry.

About the Producer

This selection comes from the Abore Washing Station, located in Bensa — a newer region to coffee farming and production in eastern Ethiopia. Owned and operated by Daye Bensa, the washing station collects cherries from farmers in the district of Bona Zuriya. They operate a number of washing stations throughout the area, and have won a number of awards including top spots at the Ethiopian Cup of Excellence. We had the pleasure of cupping with their team in March of 2023, and can attest to their attention to detail and excellent processing standards. 

About the Coffee

The consistent accolades for coffee from Bensa tell us there's something special about the area — on paper, it has the perfect mix of variety and elevation. The average altitude for coffee in this region is above 2,000 meters, with some farms reaching nearly 2,400 meters. At these staggering elevations coffee cherries ripen exceptionally slow, building up rich sugars that translate to wonderful fruity flavors. Additionally, most coffee trees in Bensa are of a newer Ethiopian variety. We’ve found it has a uniquely citrusy and floral flavor, which we believe greatly impacts the overall quality of these coffees.

This lot is a natural process, which is perhaps the most historically traditional processing method in coffee. Smallholder farmers delivered the cherries to the washing station where they were then sorted, with only the most perfectly ripe being selected. They were then moved onto raised beds where they dried slowly and evenly over the course of 16-25 days (see photo below). Slowly drying the coffee cherries in thin layers captures those outstanding aromas and flavors that we covet in natural process coffees. Enjoy!