Roaster’s Report - Ethiopia Nansebo Worka SC17

Coffee description: Catalyst Trade has been sourcing some of the cleanest Ethiopian coffees I’ve seen the last few years. That is no exception here. They pay a guaranteed minimum price plus a quality level premium to their producing partners to accomplish this level of cleanliness. In addition to this, this coffee has been sorted again after washing into a screen size separation. This is a screen 17, which are some of the larger beans from this region (Coffee screen size ranges from 10-22.  However, the most common sizes are 15-18. Each size is 1/64th of an inch.) The final result is the cleanest, most uniform coffee I’ve worked with. 

In the cup, this translates to very crisp and dynamic flavors. For me, the first impression of this coffee is it’s floral aromatics. Jasmine and some honeysuckle notes are evident. Really nice layered sweetness with some raw honey characteristics. The cooling cup brings out really beautiful peach and nectarine notes, so sweet it tends towards the stewed version of these fruits.

Source: Catalyst Trade

Country: Ethiopia

Growing region: Oromia

Elevation: 5650-6200ft

Coffee varietal: Local Landrace Varieties

Processing: Following pulping, the parchment sits in fully shaded fermentation tanks, and is fully submerged in clean water. The clean water is from the nearby Cheffee River, filtered and stored in reserve. The water in the tank is refreshed up to 3 times during the fermentation cycle. This process almost always takes 48 to 72 hours. 

Following the fermentation cycle, the parchment coffee is drained into long washing channels and agitated by hand with wooden rakes. Again, the water is refreshed at least twice during the washing cycle, which lasts about 3 hours per tank. From this point, the parchment is taken to mesh screens where excess water can drain for a period of 10-15 hours. Then the parchment is moved to mesh drying tables, placed at a depth of about 3cm and carefully turned and hand picked throughout the drying cycle, which takes about 8 to 10 days on average. The airflow from the river gorge below keeps a steady movement of fresh air and a pretty stable diurnal temperature. 

Green coffee transparency: 924lbs @ $4.90/lb, Sept 2019 (Commodity coffee price: $0.95/lb. Why is this important? Coffee pricing is complex and multifaceted, and sharing what we paid is an incomplete picture, but we believe in sharing the data we have available, hoping that will embolden others to do the same, with the ultimate goal of getting producers fairer pay for their excellent work.)