This lot derived from many small farms in Ethiopia’s Limu region. Like many other most Ethiopian coffees, this was sourced through the Ethiopia Coffee Exchange.
ECX is the government trading system in Ethiopia set up to connect farmers not part of co-ops to the global coffee market. The one downside of this system is that there is no way to tell where the coffees coming out of the ECX originated. After the cherry is purchased from the farmer, it’s graded and blended by region, and then sold with names referring to their region, washing station, or grade.
With the ECX, farmers are paid cash upon delivery, which is pretty great as they’re able to immediately reinvest. Even though we don’t really know where these coffees came from, the ECX is transparent enough as an organization that we coffee lovers can rest assured that the premium paid for the coffee was included in the payment received; that producers got a fair shake for their hard work.
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping a cup of Ethiopia Limu Ennaria, from Beanfruit Coffee Company in Flowood, Mississippi. Feel free to pull up a chair.
THEDETAILS:
region: Ennaria, Limu, Ethiopia
farm: Limu Washing Station
producer: smallholder farmers
association: Ethiopia Commodity Exchange
elevation: 1700 meters above sea level
cultivars: Ethiopia Heirloom
process: fully washed, raised bed dried
certifications: standard
BREWINGSPECS:
method: Chemex
grind: 18, Preciso
coffee: 26 g
water: 275 g
water temp: 205°
bloom: 1:00
pour: 2:00 concentric pour
CUPPINGNOTES:
This is the first offering we’ve had from Limu here at the Table, so I’m honestly not too sure what to expect going into this cupping. I’m told that Limus are much like Sidamas, though: soft, floral, and citric. I can surmise that based on the Ethiopia Limu Ennaria’s aroma alone, with its delicate scents of herbal tea, honeysuckle, cinnamon, brown sugar, and soft, but lively, citrus rind (a complex mix of orange, lemon, and lime).
Taking my first few sips of the cup immediately post-brew, my palate is graced by an absolutely gorgeous coffee. It has a soft, creamy mouthfeel and a somewhat sweet profile that is characterized by raw honey, toffee, and cane sugar. There’s also plenty of nuance and delicacy in the cup, as a flutter of honeysuckle and chamomile tea leaves flutter in over the top, tickling the side roof of the mouth and sides of the tongue while honey and toffee stream down the center of the tongue. The heaviness of those flavors, though, is alleviated by the juiciness of peach and white grape. There’s even a sweet and zesty confectionary complexity thanks to a lemon cookie note.
As the cup cools off, the coffee gets even lighter in texture but even more nuanced and complex in flavor profile; lively, even. A wonderfully tart citric lime juice acidity bites at the tongue while candied fruit flavors and crystallized sugar (a la Gumdrops) gush over the tongue make for a sour finish.
light medium body; soft creamy mouthfeel; citrus acidity; mildly dry finish
FINALTHOUGHTS:
Like I said going into the cupping, I really wasn’t too sure what to expect going into this coffee. I’ve never had coffee from Limu before – only Yirgacheffe and Sidama. Now that I’ve finished it, I’m wondering why I haven’t seen more Limus here at the Table.
Beanfruit Coffee’s Ethiopia Limu Ennaria is a beautiful coffee; absolutely gorgeous. Soft, genteel, elegant, delicate, complex, and nuanced from beginning to end. In fact, as the coffee cools, it becomes more and more delicate – lighter in body, softer in texture, livelier in acidity, more nuanced in flavor profile.
The only thing that I wish was different about about this cup was the roast level. It’s not over-roasted at all, but I think there was a bit of an aggressiveness at the roaster that made the coffee a bit more developed than it should have been. As delicate and nuanced and complex as it was as is, I can’t even imagine what it would have been like with a lighter profile.
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Andrew is a husband, father, dog lover, craft beverage enthusiast, content creator, and niche market Internet celebrity. Formerly of A Table in the Corner of the Cafe and The Pulitzer Project and contributor to Barista Magazine and Mental Floss, he’s been writing on the Internet for years.