Monday, June 21, 2021

Ethiopian Coffee

 

Locally roasted Ethiopian Coffee.
Saturday, Carol and Nat offered us a cup of Ethiopian coffee made with steamed milk, using beans that they buy from the Hyperion local coffee roasters in Ypsilanti, Michigan.  It was quite delicious. Carol has been experimenting with various types of Ethiopian-grown coffee, which are processed somewhat differently than other single-origin coffee beans. In response to her enthusiasm, I've been looking into the story of Ethiopian coffee and local sources of Ethiopian beans. The fact that the coffee plant is native to Ethiopia and that coffee cultivation began there makes it all the more interesting.

I find single-origin coffees to be very appealing, for example, the coffees from Costa Rica, which we sometimes buy as a result of our visit to a coffee processing collective in Costa Rica, or coffee from Peru, which is rather hard to find but which we found delicious when traveling there. After visiting a coffee plantation in Hawaii, I often ordered coffee shipped directly from there, but it became too expensive.

Several of the local small-scale coffee roasters are very aware of a number of issues about coffee. They care about the welfare of coffee plantation workers in the far corners of the world, and make an effort to have ethically-grown products.

The various methods of processing coffee beans are also interesting, for example, washing the raw beans or allowing them to dry without washing them or removing the "coffee cherry" attached to the beans. Ethiopian coffee uses this "natural" method of processing, which affects the flavor of the coffee. There are also various ways that coffee beans undergo a fermentation process before they are roasted.

Ethiopian Coffee from Roos Roast.
A picture of this Ethiopian single-origin coffee is on the Roos Roast website, but their only single-origin selection at the moment seems to be from Indonesia. Our current favorite coffees are Roos Roast blends of beans from multiple origins.

Roos Roast makes an effort to find ethical sources for their coffee, and most of their product is Fair Trade Organic, meaning that they focus on ethical treatment of workers as well as on organic agricultural methods. They are very aware of environmental issues in their processing as well -- they use a high-efficiency roaster that produces much less smoke than most equipment. Recently, their entire roof has been covered with solar panels to conserve energy. 

The Roos Roast building is in walking distance of my house, so we often walk there when we need to buy coffee. When we were isolating from contact with people, Roos Roast also made it very easy to buy coffee safely, so we have used their coffee consistently. I'm looking forward to being able to drink coffee in the café part of the shop when it fully reopens.
Another local roaster's selection of
Ethiopian coffee beans.

A bit further from our home, but a place we sometimes shop is the well-known food business Zingerman's. Here is what Zingerman's has to say about their Ethiopian coffee beans:

"Here at Zingerman’s, we are committed to traditionally-made, full-flavored food. For that reason, we find Ethiopia a really interesting coffee growing region. It is, of course, the birthplace of coffee — and we’ve all heard the story of Kaldi and his goats. But we are also fascinated by the stunning amount of flavor variety found in coffees from Ethiopia. Various combinations of plant genetics, micro-climate, and processing method produce cup profiles that range from citrusy, floral, bright, and elegant, to rustic, spicy, and deeply fruity.

"This coffee falls squarely in the rustic camp. It is a 'natural' or 'dry' processed coffee, meaning that the fruit flesh from the coffee cherry was left attached to the bean as it dried. Natural processed coffees, and this one in particular, have intense fruit characteristics. Famed the world over for its distinctive blueberry mocha flavor, Harrar coffee fetches some of the highest prices for unwashed coffee in the world market."

I don't know if I'll experiment with Ethiopian coffee or not, but I am curious about all the many flavors and origins of coffee that are available around us. I notice that amazon.com has a very wide selection of Ethiopian coffee available, but I'm really happy that I now feel safe shopping in person! We have so many local roasters here that it's really fun to check out all the possibilities.

Blog post © 2021 mae sander, images as credited.


26 comments:

Harvee said...

I tried an Ethiopian coffee from our store and now it's one of our favorites!

Greg said...

I'm not a huge coffee drinker but I find myself intrigued by the different flavors. I could see trying this.

kathyinozarks said...

Very interesting posts-I can no longer have caffeine but I still always look for and buy quality coffees where I can trace the source. enjoyed your post

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...


We only have one coffee roaster in Wichita, and it is the Spice Merchant. They have three Ethiopian coffees: Sidamo, Sidamo Organic, and Yirgacheffe. I really enjoyed learning about the coffee roasters in your area and neighborhood. It was fascinating to learn about the different roasts, too. Thanks for sharing this fun information with us for T this week, dear Mae. You always come up with a fun read.

My name is Erika. said...

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I did see a TV about coffee growing and processing in Ethiopia. It was very interesting. Now if I could fresh Costa Rican coco, which I had there (in fact we made the coco from the beans), I would be all into it. Thanks for the interesting post and happy T day Mae. Hugs-Erika

Linda Kunsman said...

Never had Ethiopian coffee but I sure would be up for trying it! I have had Costa Rican and Peruvian coffee and did like them very much. Just have to allow for only two caffeinated drinks early in the day;) Happy T day!

Darla said...

Coffee, oh yes I do like coffee. We try any new ones that come from reliable roasters but usually go back to our old favorite French Roast. I will look for the Ethiopian and give it a try.

Tandy | Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) said...

It's great to buy from local roasters. Dave loves Ethiopian beans as well as ones from Guatemala.

Anne in the kitchen said...

I love coffee and just read your post at 11:30 pm. I am craving coffee but it is too late to have any. If only I were still young when I could drink 1/2 pot of coffee at night and still sleep like a baby.
I have some Costa Rican and Hawaiian coffee but have never tried Ethiopian. I will have to go to our local roasters to see what I can find.

Valerie-Jael said...

Ethiopian coffee is great, we have a little coffee roaster / cafe in the Altstadt here, and the coffee is totally wonderful. Happy T Day, Valerie

Iris Flavia said...

You´ve been in Hawaii, how cool! All we have is Toast or Pizza Hawaii, "LOL" - thank you, good advice for next weekend, yum.
I sadly don´t like coffee anymore.

Sherry's Pickings said...

It’s amazing how different coffee can be depending on the bean. I love coffee ☕️!

Sherry's Pickings said...

I love coffee ☕️! It’s amazing how different they can be depending on the bean!

Lisca said...

How interesting! I'm not a coffee person and I'm not sure I would be able to distinguish the different flavors, but it sounds oh so interesting. I do buy my chocolate from a single country ( Dominican Rep, Amazonia, Madagaskar, Equador etc) and it has to be Fair Trade of course.
I don't know if we have any roasters here. There must be.I've just never looked.
Happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca

nwilliams6 said...

I hate to even admit the coffee we drink - Folgers. I love all kinds of coffee but hubby is set in his ways and even inspects the coffee canister to make sure I haven't tried to stir in some different kind of coffee (which I have been guilty of - lol). How cool you have shops near you which sell cool coffee - we have Starbucks and and a local roaster who is very boring. We will catch up one day. THanks for all the details here - I find them very interesting. Happy T-Day, Mae.

J said...

I must admit I don’t have a clue where the coffee we drink comes from, we only drink coffee while we are out and we are amazed at all the different tastes, some quite harsh but most are very smooth, we love flower of Jamaica. I do love watching documentaries about these things, it’s interesting to see the process as it’s not something we think about while we are sat enjoying it.
Happy T Day
Jan

Tina said...

We love coffee and I have had what was called an Ethiopian blend bt probably not the real deal as you had. I have been to Ypsilanti when I lived in Michigan and anyone not familiar would always ask me how to pronounce it!

Kate Yetter said...

I don't drink coffee but still interesting.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate

Divers and Sundry said...

I enjoy trying different coffees, and the single-origin coffees really do have individual character. Like the single estate teas we used to get.

Happy T Tuesday!

Rajani Rehana said...

Beautiful blog

DVArtist said...

Wow! Great post and information. Have a very nice day today and enjoy that coffee.

CJ Kennedy said...

I don’t like the taste of coffee, but love the smell of fresh ground coffee. Fun and interesting facts about the Ethiopian coffee and so cool you are in walking distance of the coffee roasters. Happy T day

pearshapedcrafting said...

What an interesting post - I have very little idea about buying coffee - i wish I could try before I buy as some coffees we have bought in packets have been very bitter! Happy T day, Chrisx

Sharon Madson said...

Since I read this, my husband and I have been trying to pronounce that place in Michigan. LOL Never knew there was this kind of coffee or so many kinds of it. Now ask me about tea, and I could go on and on about that! Happy T day.

Sherry's Pickings said...

i saw on tv last night that coffee originated in ethiopia. And thank goodness it did! what clever soul thought of drying and boiling that weird bean?

Let's Art Journal said...

So lovely to try new blends and enjoy a cuppa 😁. Happy T Day wishes! Hugs, Jo x