Ethiopia Hambela Natural Organic

About Ethiopia Hambela Natural Organic

Ethiopia Hambela Natural Organic Benti Nenqa arrived early February 2024 in grainpro and it is still the current crop with the next crop not anticipated until Spring 2024. We had this coffee earlier in the year and sold it out. By happenstance, the importer had some small additional supply that we were, happily, able to acquire.  In the prior few years this coffee was one of our customer favorites and it was true for us as well. A clean, fruit filled, well balanced natural that is, as a bonus, is organic. We picked up a couple of naturals this season but Hambela should be high on your list. Quantity was less than we wanted to purchase.

We are always on the lookout for a great Ethiopia natural processed coffee, and this year was no exception. One of the importers we work with directed us to their selection of Ethiopia Hambela lots two seasons ago. Out of the several of lots we cupped, this one stood head and shoulders above the rest. We contacted our supplier, who told us the lot we had chosen had also scored the highest in their blind taste test rankings as well. We were able to secure a number of bags, despite the demand, and know fans of natural processed Ethiopian coffees will enjoy this as much as we have. This was true last year and this season we reconfirmed our interest yet again.

This coffee is unique in that it comes from a single estate in Ethiopia (Hambela) that is also a washing station for the immediate growing community.  The majority of coffees sourced from this country are from washing stations or cooperatives, where coffee from many smaller farms from around the region is processed and sold as a lot, but none is grown on the site. Hambela is owned by the METAD Agricultural Development PLC, a family run business; the land on which it sits was awarded to Muluemebet Emiru, the first African female pilot, after World War II. Her descendents now run the estate and farm, with Aman Adinew at the helm of METAD. Adinew (Emiru's grandson) is one of the founding executives of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, the dominant organization in Ethiopia for commerce and trading. METAD plays an active roll in the local community: their workforce is over 70% women, and they provide healthcare for employees, award university scholarships and sponsor an elementary school with over 700 students. METAD was also first to partner with Grounds for Health in Ethiopia to implement a successful cervical cancer screening program for women within the coffee growing communities.  METAD provides technical assistance and shares modern farming equipment with other local farmers.  METAD also has the first and only private state-of-the-art SCAA certified coffee quality control lab on the African continent used to train both domestic and international coffee professionals.

coffee plant nursery at Hambela

The Hambela site has its own washing station, drymill and drying beds, so the processing of their coffee cherry can be done in-house. This coffee is a natural process, also known as dry processing, where the skin and pulp of the coffee cherry is not removed prior to drying. This process takes a much longer time than washed processing, and varies depending on humidity, temperature and amount of sunlight. Cherries are dried on African style raised beds for proper airflow all around and the coffee itself must be frequently turned. When the desired moisture content is achieved the dried cherries are milled down to the internal seed or bean. The sweet, fruity mucillage of the cherry penetrates the inner beans during this process, leaving a very noticeable fruitiness that can range from mild to extreme.

• Zone: Guji
• Region: Oromia
• Altitude: 1900-2200 meters above sea level
• Coffee variety: Indigenous heirloom cultivars
• Coffee grade: Grade 1
• Processing: Natural
• Harvest: October-December

Cup Characteristics: Juicy soft mouthfeel. Tobacco aroma. Very easy drinking with flavors of blueberry and chocolate.  A significant and complex fruit penetration without being overwhelming. A refined and clean Ethiopia Natural.

Roasting Notes: We stopped this roast about a minute past first crack and it seemed ideal - second crack had not yet started. On a Behmor a P2 or P3 would work well.