Novo Coffee

Harar Promise and Ethiopia's Great Run

Waking up yesterday (Sunday) morning, I remembered that I had been given a shirt the night before, a green and red t-shirt with a Toyota logo that marked my registration for the annual Ethiopian Great Run. I warmed up on the short jog down to Meskel Square where I joined the tail end of 30,000 people starting the 10 km race that winds its way through the center of Addis. There was bright sun, fresh morning air, and a bounce in people's steps. Families were there together. There was a feeling of solidarity. And rhythm - Teddy Afro had people dancing as the sea of green made a swathing stain of the starting line. I followed the energetic runners who cut through seams in the sea, then became a "faranji leader" (the shout I heard a number of times while passing groups.) It was an obstacle course that occupied the first 40 minutes and 5 km of the run. I passed nearly 20,000 people in order to finish the 10 km in just under an hour, but I almost sprinted the last third.

In cupping today, we narrowed potential Harar microlot areas into 5 by cupping fresh coffees processed by normal means from specific localities. Even clean Harars are typically loaded with sub-par seeds, but we were able to hone in on 5 areas (2 standing above the rest) of unique promise - one with molasses/raspberry type fruit, and another with very elegant honey-vanilla promise. Tomorrow, we'll taste heavier sorting from the same fresh lots, then determine where our areas of microlot focus will be for the season.

Lots of rough, no diamonds today

One thing I'm convinced of is that the best coffees never make you doubt. From the first waft of fragrance, special coffee should trigger intrigue, memory, and an excitement to explore the coffee further. These days I'm rejecting any coffee that doesn't clearly express itself from the beginning. The last two days have produced no winners - only variations of mis-harvesting or faulty processing that robbed the lots of any potential they might have had to be special. Most coffee in Ethiopia is still being miserably abused. Great coffees require attentive and extensive work, and, when the work isn't done right, we taste the results.

Two Coffees Score 90 Points

Ninety points means something different this year than it has before. Yes, the Hache coffee is getting fantastic reviews, and I love it. But I know it can be much, much better. This is exciting. 90-point coffees come through the training of Artisan Coffee Farmers, whose aim is to organically produce the purest, best coffee flavors and sell for higher prices to those who care for a special cup. This type of coffee and its inherent relationships is what a 90-point coffee is all about - empowering farmers with the means to produce a more valuable product.

I am pleased to announce, after weeks of cupping, the delivery of our first two micro-lots that score over 90: the first is a 10 bag washed lot from farmers around Adado, Yirgacheffe - intense tamarind, apricot, and lemon, impeccably clean production and preparation, should get even better with time (90 points); the second is a 4-bag natural lot from Arsi - creamy caramelized green papaya, rum, vanilla, just slight fruity in aftertaste should mellow (92 points).

Great weeks of tasting discovery to come.

Sun-Dried Harar Geisha

Now that could smell good. Ethiopia is a land of dusty diamonds that will only have their luster revealed by an integrated approach that addresses quality issues from cultivation to cup. Comprehensive projects will be required to reveal unsmelled aromas, unknown varieties, and other elements of untold coffee stories. Intensive cupping starts tomorrow, and it starts with a bang otherwise known as HARAR.

Boutique Coffee Defined in Ethiopia

This year, many boutique Ethiopian green coffee shipments will see expedited movement of coffee to port (a huge disincentive for buyers in the past); new, smaller vacuum packing; and intensively monitored processing of unique micro-lots of coffee that should set new standards for Ethiopian coffee quality. This is great news for Novo, as we will likely see the most beautiful coffees ever in existence pass through our roaster, then to Clover machines, coffee presses, Artisan Brew Stands, espresso machines, and increasingly educated consumers around North America, Panama, and Ethiopia. 

Ethiopia to Emerge

The inevitable is finally happening - Ethiopia, home of homes for coffee, is finally gathering the attention it needs from the coffee industry to drive the discovery of its unimaginable cup flavor diversity, the preservation of its remaining wild coffee forests, and the unveiling of its ancient coffee culture for discerning consumers of the world.

Ethiopia is abuzz with discussion of appellation projects and the formation of a specialty coffee association. Exporters are realizing that they are going to have to think like coffee farmers if they want to discover and improve quality. Starbucks is in town next week to defend itself in its attempts to have intellectual property rights to Ethiopian regional coffee names, at the same time reportedly interested in supporting appellation development.

There is also bold talk of unique international and unexpected coffee enterprise and alliance - from farmer to end-consumer. Ethiopia is prepared to pounce pronounced on unprepared palates. It is primed to "wow". If anybody found a Ethiopian coffee last year that they loved - this year they should expect to find that one improved plus another diamond dusted off. The task over here is to dust off the diamonds and hold them to the light. What a pleasure-filled job!

Ethiopian Green

The Geisha chronicles are on pause, although I've cupped past crop Panama Geisha three times in the past two weeks. It's a great reference point when comparing to the top Ethiopian green coffees showing up early in the harvest. I keep wanting to describe much of what I'm tasting as Geisha-like - for different reasons. There is a fresh, gently nutty fruit element underneath all of the great citrus and floral - kind of like fresh cacao fruit.

Being in Addis during this time of year is truly like being a kid in the candy store. The best part is the candies keep maturing and changing every day, and every new cupping brings something never before experienced in coffee aroma. I smelled a Kaffa forest sun-dried coffee yesterday that smelled like grape Hi-C - it took me a while to make that connection to other kids' school lunches(those who were allowed such artificial indulgences).

Coffees are rolling in, and I have the great opportunity to taste much of the best of what the world's home of coffee has to offer this year, and also to have an influence on the discovery and improvement of these great green coffees. Plenty more to come from Addis in the coming weeks.