Ethiopia, Telila Honey

Expect notes of Lemon, Apricot, Honeycomb

In the hills around Agaro, in Ethiopia's Jimma zone, a group of female coffee producers tend smallholdings often no bigger than an English garden. Their cherries travel a short distance to the Telila washing station at Kecho Anderacha, run by Mike Mamo of Addis Exporters. Here, this honey-processed lot is pulped, fermented overnight, and dried on raised tables for around eighteen days. Leaving a little of the cherry's mucilage on the bean builds a rounder body and a deeper sweetness than a fully washed Ethiopian usually offers, while keeping the bright fruit character intact. The cup is layered and sweet: ripe apricot, lemon, a honeycomb finish.