Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom
Process: Anaerobic Natural
Sourced by: Crop to Cup
I’m not the best athlete in the world, but I love studying sports from observing athletes at the highest level. One thing I noticed is that many of the world’s top performers practice visualization. Before the golfer hits their shot, they see the shot happen. Before the quarterback throws, they predict the movements of the coverage. So, what about roasting? Before the roaster drops the batch, they taste the…
Many times, before a coffee reaches production, it’s first roasted on a sample roaster. It’s a roaster’s first opportunity to ascertain the quality of the coffee in question. Many dictate a score that decides whether the coffee will make it to their roastery. While BOTZ admittedly cares about cup score, it’s our own nostalgic visualized production roast that dictates our attachment to a given lot of coffee. Truly, the best coffees BOTZ has ever carried have been the ones we can visualize and taste from the get-go…before the first batch even touches the drum of the roaster. I see the coffee hit the burrs of the grinder. I see the stream from the kettle hit the grounds. I feel the wave of acidity transition into saturated sweetness. It’s the version of the coffee that was meant to be. It’s going to be incredible.
Truthfully, my visualization for Bekele Belacho’s anaerobic-processed lot is one of my strongest to date. While I could sense the inherent and immense quality of my sample roast, I could feel just how impressive and striking the BOTZ version of this coffee could be once it was dialed in on the BOTZ system. I visualized long and hard to see the best version of this coffee and it dictated my roasting style and approach. Here’s what the coffee has become.
Bekele Belacho’s lot leads with huge aromatics similar to a mix of freeze-dried strawberries and gooey orange marmalade. Even just opening the bag will hit you with a blast of strawberry poptarts. The body of this coffee is weighty and cascading. The acidity peaks and dissipates with a lengthy undistracting zip, leading to a tropical-laden and rich finish. It’s a natural with balance so striking, that you’ll never feel hesitation when deciding if it’s the right coffee to brew at a given moment.
So, what are you waiting for? Visualize the best brew you can of this coffee and extract it into reality!
***Please note that coffee orders are roasted and processed on Saturdays. After a QC session on Sunday, all coffee orders ship on Monday. The cutoff for orders is 12:00 pm each Friday.***