Ethiopia... the original coffee origin...
It's well recognised that coffee originally came from the Kaffa cloud forests of Ethiopia.
You've probably heard a version of the legend describing the discovery of coffee by a goat herder, Kaldi. The legend suggests that Kaldi noticed that after eating the berries from a particular tree his goats became so energised that they did not sleep at night. He talked to a local abbot about his discovery, who made a drink with the berries which allowed him to remain alert through evening prayer. The abbot shared the drink with the other monks in the monastery and then news of the energising drink began to spread. Sadly, it's almost entirely certain that this origin legend is fictional.
Ethiopian coffee is my favoured every day single origin coffee. It displays remarkable complexity arising from the terroir of the plantations and the processing method which I prefer, the natural process, which intensifies wild ferment character. I have been roasting a specific Ethiopian coffee from the region of Guji, the Muda Tatesa. The flavours centre around dark chocolate and red berries with beautiful framing acidity. The aroma on opening the coffee bag is strongly of blueberries. It's a beautiful coffee.
If you're thinking about trying a single origin, I'd highly recommend starting with the Ethiopian Guji Muda Tatesa which I'll be roasting this week as the single origin.
Purchase Ethiopian Muda Tatesa
To read about coffee extraction click here
To hear about coffee in the movies click here