Kore

Ethiopian coffees often charm people into exploring lighter roasted, single origin beans. It worked on me. I was a skeptic who bought in after tasting really distinct fruit flavors in a coffee for the first time. ‘Yirgacheffe’ became a big buzz word for me. Early on, deciphering the language on a bag of coffee was much like me trying to make sense of wine labels, it would just leave me confused and a little slack-jawed. I figured that if the bag had ‘Yirgacheffe’ on it, it was probably going to be pretty tasty. It was perfect click bait for the budding home coffee enthusiast. Years later, I’m finding I wasn’t far off.

The Yirgacheffe region is situated in the central-southern part of Ethiopia, neighboring other famous coffee producing regions like Sidamo and Guji. Coffees from this particular region gained popularity for the complex florals and fruit character the terroir produces. In this way, the Kore drinks like a textbook Yirgacheffe. In the cup I tasted a soft citric acidity, sweet white fruits, and a variety of florals. At first sip the acidity is what was most pronounced. It presents like lemonade and sweet lime, and transitions into fresh lychee or white grape. The finish on this coffee is where I experience floral notes like jasmine and lavender. The Kore has a lightly juicy, soft, tea-like texture which complement the present flavors, making it a well balanced cup.

I'm a sentimental sucker, leaving me particularly fond of the Kore. It feels like a full circle moment. Ethiopian coffees piqued my initial interest in specialty coffee, and now as a newer member of the roasting team, I got to profile my very first coffee that just so happened to be Ethiopian. My hope is that this coffee can do for you what coffees from this origin did for me; pulled me deeper into the rabbit hole.