I have grown accustomed to expect all that is raw and robust from Ethiopian coffees. Usually i’ll even try to accentuate that by preparing the coffee in a french press, so as to seperate as few of the oils from the brew as possible. If a) you don’t oversteep it, and b) the beans are not burned, you can get an extremely “earthy” flavor but can also detect the spice and chocolate notes that the region is generally famous for, as well as a lingering hint of blueberries (if both a and b don’t work, the brew is probably sooty, and you should start over–think not-as-hot water, and a little more of it.
But recently, I was given a sample of Krankies‘ Organic Ethiopia Sidamo Natural Korate, and it was unlike any Ethiopian coffee I’d tried. The bean produced a far clearer taste than usual. Instead of a gentle afterthought, the characteristic (and uncanny) flavor of blueberries was immediately evident, and dominated the palate. The clarity of the attack and the cleanness of the finish made me be like “I EXPECT this out of Kenya, but YOU Ethiopia?” I went back for a second round and prepared it this time in a Chemex, and the clear, light berry flavor came through even more. I generally only drink coffee from this region in colder months, but this offering from Krankies is getting made daily this august until it’s gone.
If you are interested in knowing more about Krankies: who are incidentally a small-batch roaster and coffee retailer in North Carolina, their website is linked above. To see their offerings, (which range wildly) go here.
