One thing I really love doing is creating personalized Google Maps and populating them with pins; places I’ve been, places I want to go, roasters I’ve bought coffee from, coffee shops and breweries I’ve visited… It really satisfies my obsessive compulsive nature. (My OCD nature is also the primary driver behind my arbitrary 50 States 50 Roasters project.)
A couple years ago, I saw that My Roaster Map had dozens of pins only in the continental United States and only in a few different geographic regions. I wanted to drop pins all over the world, so I started reaching out to roasters that I’d heard good things about and I was able to drop pins in England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Laos, South Korea, El Salvador… There are still many, many countries I’d like to add to my collection, and after visiting my favorite cafe in Holland, Michigan this past weekend (The 205 Coffee Bar), I was able to drop a pin on Iceland.
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re cupping the Ethiopia Werka, from Reykjavik Roasters in Reykjavik, Iceland. Feel free to pull up a chair.
This coffee is from the Ethiopia Werka Coffee Washing Station in Nensebo, a small village in the township of Werka. The washing station is used by more than 700 farmers, each of whom, on average, grow coffee on 3 hectares of land. Farms in Nensebo typically also grow false bananas, corn and acacia trees in order to shade the coffee plants.
The coffee is washed, underwater-fermented for 48 hours then dried quickly, in a windy area, on raised beds. The water is preserved to be purified and recycled for further use.*
THEDETAILS
region: Nensebo, Werka, Sidama, Ethiopia
farm: Ethiopia Werka Coffee Washing Station
producer: smallholder farmers
association: N/A
elevation: 1900 – 2050 meters above sea level
cultivars: Ethiopia Heirloom
process: fully washed, raised bed dried
CUPPINGNOTES
The aroma of the Ethiopia Werka is so sweet, fragrant, and enticing, brimming with scents of stone fruit, vanilla, and light floral nuances.
The flavor follows the nose into the cup. This coffee is on the lighter side of medium-bodied and features a lightly syrupy mouthfeel. My first few initial sips are sugary sweet with flavors of rich molasses, vanilla, and brown sugar. As the cup cools, it becomes a much lusher and juicier affair as bright, vibrant notes of nectarine, peach, and melon rush to the forefront of each sip, and chamomile tea florals play through a clean finish.
*content courtesy of Reykjavik Roasters
What were your thoughts of this one? Comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome! Feel free to enter a comment below.
UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL PRODUCTS REVIEWED ARE UNSOLICITED SUBMISSIONS FROM THE PRODUCT MANUFACTURER.
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.