Bombe natural Ethiopia Wholesale Customers

Fruit filled, vibrant and a lavish expression of highland Sidama coffee. Blueberry, nectarine, and a bergamot zestiness lead onto violet florals and a cacao nib finish.

Producers: Small-holders of the Shantawene, Bombe, and Keramo communities

Region: Bensa Woreda, Sidama Zone, Ethiopia

Cultivar: Local Sidama Landraces and JARC Speciality Cultivars

Process: Natural

Altitude: 1900m - 2250m asl

Coffee Arabica blossomed in the highlands of Southern Ethiopia, and the country’s farmers still have a completely unique bank of cultivars and landraces available to them compared to the rest of the coffee world. These plants play an important role in the distinct and much-loved flavour profiles Ethiopian coffee has. The farming communities, diverse micro-climates, and dizzying altitudes play equally important roles in creating these unique flavours, and are why Sidama produces some truly exceptional coffee.

Communities commonly group their coffee together and this coffee represents the Shantawene, Bombe, and Keramo communities who deliver their crop to the Bombe wet mill. At dizzying heights of up to 2250 metres above sea level the coffee here grows slowly, fixing sugar in the fruit. At the Bombe mill this potential is cared for by making sure the drying fruit never gets too hot. By using cooler shaded drying beds than the more common open beds, and turning the coffee regularly over nearly four weeks, the result is a delicious fruit forward representation of what makes Ethiopian coffee unique.

Blueberry is a classic flavour descriptor of natural processed Ethiopian coffee and Bombe has it in bundles. This blueberry works deliciously with further vibrant fruit flavours of raspberry and nectarine along with hints of cacao nib. Florals of violet and elderflower add nuance, while a bergamot citrus acidity holds everything harmoniously together. As the coffee cools in the cup the sweetness builds and supports a dense syrup like texture to the mouthfeel.

We've roasted this coffee light with filter, French press or aeropress brewing in mind and recommend enjoying this coffee without milk. Here the vibrance and complexity of the fruit like flavours are most prominent. The blueberry is ever present and filter brewing helps bring out the higher more floral and bergamot like notes. Moving to aeropress and French press the luxurious cacao nib finish adds a dessert like quality to the cup.

Illustration:

Ras Tafari: that was the birth name of Ethiopia's 225th and last emperor, who was born on 23 July 1892, and took the regal name Haile Selassie I when he was crowned. For many considered also as Rastafarian Messiah. All our Ethiopian beans (now and in the past) are represented by his proud portraits.

Nearly 8,000 miles separate Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and Kingston, Jamaica, but a link between them was forged by a number of poor black Jamaicans who believed Ras Tafari’s coronation was the fulfillment of a prophecy and that he was their redeemer, the messiah written of in the Bible’s Book of Revelation: “King of Kings, Lord of lords”. They believed he would arrange for a deliverance, which, as they saw it, involved a miraculous transformation. They would be spirited away from their lives of poverty in the Caribbean and relocated in Africa, the land of their ancestors and their spiritual epicentre.

illustration by lukasz