I am a coffee snob. When I say that I am impressed with a coffee, that is a bold statement.
Ethiopian coffee is a favorite of mine. I'm particular to Yrgacheffe, which seems to be popular, but anything sourced in Ethiopia by a skilled roaster tends to excite me.
Opening the bag for the first time was nothing special. I always look forward to it. It's such a great feeling when you get that blast of freshness when you open the package. This was pleasant but not ground breaking.
I poured a few beans in my grinder. I used a coarse roast in an Aeropress for the first cup. When I took the bin out of the grinder, I was completely blown away. The aroma had a dampness to it, very nutty, very earthy, and very powerful. And very...sweet. How can an aroma smell sweet? It smelled like honey. I didn't know honey had a smell.
I want my whole house to smell like that. I want my whole life to smell like that.
At that point, I decided to put it up to my nose to get a good whiff.
I've only able to get something with an aroma like this from small, independent roasters.
The flavor was not quite as amazing as the aroma. I mean, let's be honest. The aroma was two mazings. The flavor was just a single mazing. (that was a dad joke). I always like the nutty and earthy flavors that I find in Ethiopian coffee, and the earthy was very prevalent here. I just really love the sweet undertone, though. I call it the "fresh" undertone, as I only find it in fresh coffee, and this had a ton of it. The expiration date is almost a year away, so that tells me this was pretty fresh. I should also note that the other bag I bought expires in March, so that one is not-so-fresh. I tried this one first because I wanted to see how good it could be. This first bag is so good, it's probably only going to last a couple of weeks.
This stood up well against any other I've tried. Whereas the aroma set itself apart from its peers, the flavor proved to be on par with its peers. It is really hard to say that the flavor was amazing when the aroma was just so much more amazing.
I made it in a pour over in my second attempt, and the results were equal.
I purchased this based on a recommendation from a friend. He stated that this was probably the best commercial coffee available on Amazon, so I decided to give it a try. I didn't realize it was associated with a cause until I got it and read the label. I'm excited to be purchasing from a company like this.
Made with materials harvested from responsibly managed forests.
As certified by
Fair Trade Certified
Fair Trade Certified
A Fair Trade Certified seal on a product means that it was made according to fair trade standards that promote sustainable livelihoods and safe working conditions, protection of the environment, and strong, transparent supply chains. Fair Trade USA’s model generates revenue that farmers, workers, and fishers can direct towards their community to fight poverty.
