Named for the village located just a few kilometers from the cooperative, Idido was established in the late 1970’s and joined the ranks of Yirgacheffe Farmer’s Union in 2002. The cooperative has roughly 1,000 active members who cultivate farms averaging 1.5 hectares. There has been somewhat of a privately funded land grab for coffee in this area in recent years, but we’re proud to be working with a cooperative of growers that’s democratically governed and managed.
The specific origin of this lot has a high concentration of the Kudhume varietal, which is known for its small size and exceptional complexity of flavors.*
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping the Ethiopia Idido, from Kickapoo Coffee in Viroqua, Wisconsin, courtesy of Craft Coffee. Feel free to pull up a chair.
THEDETAILS:
region: Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
farm: N/A
producer: smallholder farmers
association: Idido Cooperative
elevation: 1900 – 2300 meters above sea level
cultivars: Kudhume, Wolisho
process: fully washed, raised bed dried
certifications: Organic
CUPPINGNOTES:
The aroma of the Ethipia Idido is subtle, but it is quite fragrant. Loads of perfumed, fresh meadow flower aromatics and cherry.
The first few sips of the coffee immediately post-brew present my palate with, surprisingly, a pretty aggressive nutty flavor. It’s not even a trail mix flavor (like a mixture nuts, sugars, raisin, etcetera)—it’s a dominant cashew. In fact, there hardly any sugary notes at all; maybe just faint hints of raw honey. No caramel, no chocolate.
As the cup cools off, some pretty complex flavors begin to emerge and they make the coffee taste much more like the washed Yirg it actually is instead of the Brazil it resembled up front. Its nuttiness is still the prevailing tasting note, but there has been an emergence of a tart and zesty lemon rind acidity, spiced cherry, and silky rose petals which lead to a slightly astringent finish.
Light body; silky mouthfeel; tartaric acidity; dry finish.
FINALTHOUGHTS:
This Ethiopia Idido was a bit of an odd duck offering from Kickapoo Coffee. When I cup a washed Yirg, I expect it to be clean, fragrant, juicy… I don’t at all expect what this cup gave me. It did have some of the elements that I was expecting to find, but the nuttiness throughout (and especially in the front half) really threw me off. As I mentioned, those first few sips actually reminded me of a Brazilian or Costa Rican coffee more than it did a washed Yirgacheffe.
None of this is to say that it’s not a good coffee; it is—it’s pretty tasty. It might have been a little baked, though. I was really hoping the back half of the cup would have been the predominant notes in the coffee’s profile, and that its body would have been a little bit fuller.
I could be wrong, but I think this coffee has more potential than what I tasted in the cup.
*content provided by Kickapoo Coffee
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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.