Tasting Notes: Smoky, Dark Chocolate, Blackberry
Origin: Anasora, South Guji Zone, Ethiopia
Growing Elevation: 2,200 – 2,300 MASL
Producer: Anasora washing station — smallholder outgrowers
Variety: Heirloom
Process: Natural
If you already reach for our dark roasts, this is the same kind of cup taken somewhere new. Dark roasting an Ethiopian natural from 2,200 meters is not the traditional move, and that is exactly why we did it - the fruit in this coffee is dense enough to survive the roast and come out the other side as something you don't usually get in this part of the menu.
The dry fragrance is smoky and deep with cacao, with a thread of citrus running through it. Once water is poured, the aroma turns to blackberry and cocoa powder. The first sip is smoky and 90% cacao up front, followed by notes of blackberry and blueberry. The acidity is low but pointed, characterized by a flavor of lime juice. The body is medium-thick and genuinely reminiscent of hot cocoa. Grab a bag online or stop by the shop to give it a try!
The coffee comes from Anasora, a village in the South Guji Zone of southern Ethiopia, about 478 kilometers from Addis Ababa. Farms here sit between 2,200 and 2,300 meters in well-drained red soil, with coffee growing semi-wild under indigenous shade trees alongside spices, tuber crops, and false banana. The washing station was built specifically to take red cherry from this highland pocket, and the growers who deliver to it hand-pick selectively for ripeness.
That altitude is the whole reason this works. Cherry matures slowly up here and the beans come out dense and sugar-rich, which gives us room to push the roast further than we normally would with an Ethiopian natural without losing the blueberry and blackberry underneath. Familiar enough for a dark roast drinker, unique enough to be worth your attention.
