We have another Ethiopian gem for our Fresh Crop exclusive this week. Follow Tom, from our Brunswick East store, as he talks about the wonderful growing nation of Ethiopia and gives his spin on the coffee using the Hario V60.
No other region can claim to have hatched as many journey’s for the coffee obsessed than Ethiopia. From the blueberry bombs of seasons past to the original Gesha plant, Ethiopia is home to some of the most distinct and renowned coffees world wide. My own journey started there, or rather in my kitchen, as a bombastic Yirgacheffe blew up my taste buds and opened my mind to what coffee could really be. Fitting, that the coffee I present today is from that very same region.
If Ethiopia is the most famous coffee producing country, then Yirgacheffe is surely its most famous region. Demonstrating the diversity of the region, this coffee is very different from my formative bean. Expressing strong floral notes, you’ll get jasmine, black tea, lime, bergamot and honey all within a delicate body with a velvety caramel finish.
Like the majority of coffees from Ethiopia this was processed using the washed method at a washing station. The handpicked cherries are brought to the Aricha Washing Station by hundreds of individual farmers to be sorted, weighed, and purchased. The blended nature of such a system makes it near impossible to know whose beans end up in which bags as well as lending the washing station’s name to the final product. Benefiting the smallholder farmers’ with an increasingly fair price as well as education and support to improve their farming practices.
Although I’m delighted that single estate or “microlot” coffees are becoming increasingly more available from Ethiopia, there’s something about a coffee emanating from a washing station that truly expresses the nuances of a particular region.
The delicate floral nature and sweet finish of this Yirgacheffe Aricha warms my heart and gives me hope that many more people will come to love Ethiopian coffee as much as I do.
EQUIPMENT
RECIPE
PREPARATION
Fill your kettle with filtered water and set to 100 degrees Celsius.
Dose out 18g of coffee and grind it to a medium-coarse consistency, similar to that of beach sand.
Fold and place a Hario filter in the Hario V60 and place it on top of the Hario carafe. Rise the filter with boiling water and allow the water to trickle down into the carafe. Give it a good swirl to water up the glass and tip it out.
Tip the coffee into the V60 and give it a shake to even out the coffee bed.
Place the Hario set onto the scales and tare to zero.
METHOD
00:00 - 00:30
Start the timer.
Pour 40 grams of water, making sure to wet the entire bed and slightly agitate. This will be our bloom.
00:30 - 01:00
At 30 seconds, pour 100g of water in a gentle circular motion into the dripper, try and have the pour last 15 seconds.
01:00 - 01:30
Wait until the timer reads 1 minute and pour another 100g of water.
01:30 - 04:00
After another 30 seconds, pour another 100g for a total of 340g of water.
At around 4 minutes, the coffee should be completely drained into the carafe.
Pour your filter coffee into your favourite mug and savour the beautiful flavour of Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Aricha.
DOMESTIC ESPRESSO RECIPE
On the Slayer LP we use 20.5g of coffee and aim for a yield of 38g, however your machine and set up will determine what dose (and therefore, yield) you should aim for. Some domestic machines have 20-22g baskets, however some will only be able to hold 16-18g. Use the ratio to adjust the espresso recipe.
Padre Coffee acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continued connections to land, sea and community.
We pay our respect to Elders past, present and future, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
