Cadence Espresso

Our latest iteration of Cadence Espresso comes from the Dogo Sodu processing facility, just outside the town of Gerba in Ethiopia's Guji Zone, run by Gemechu Shonora alongside his brothers Shebura, Morkata and Adugna. Their father spent years working as a coffee collector in the area, travelling between the surrounding villages to buy cherry from local farmers, and that relationship has carried through into the mill their sons now run. Cherry for this lot is sourced from smallholders in Gerba Layo, at altitudes between 2,250 and 2,350 masl.

Every delivery of cherry is first floated in water to separate out any underripe or defective coffee, with only the ripest cherries carried forward. The selected cherries then go straight onto raised drying beds, spending three days in full sun before moving under shade cover for a further fifteen days, drying slowly and evenly to protect the fruit character developed during processing. Throughout this period, workers hand-sort the beds to remove any visible defects, which is what allows the family to consistently produce quality lots.

This natural processed coffee has the fruit forward intensity the Guji region is known for, with a black cherry sweetness that sits at the front of the cup and carries through into a rich, baker's chocolate depth with a gentle Earl Grey character, lending a floral, bergamot-like lingering characteristic. In milk, that same sweetness rounds out into something closer to rum raisin ice cream. Boozy dried fruit and cream, with the natural process fermentation giving an indulgent body.