All-Ethiopia Month! New Menu, New Millenium.
This month is such a special month for Café Grumpy. We have been talking about having an all-Ethiopian menu for quite a while now and it finally happened. This is exciting for many reasons.
For one, Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee where the people still take a couple of hours in the middle of the day to roast coffee beans in a frying pan, grind them with a mortar and pestle and brew them in a pot over an open flame. After the cup is served, they add water back to the coffee in the pot where it is brewed again and served. This is done 3 times and is known as the 3 Cups ceremony. It is more than just a coffee break. It is a time for neighbors to get together to discuss the news or to check in with family members.
There are a
million reasons why this menu is so significant but I will touch on a
couple.
Ethiopia produces some of the craziest, most floral, fruity, exciting tasting coffees in
the world. We have 5 that are all
amazing in their own way. There are
around 2500 different coffee varietals in
Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent country with over eighty indigenous languages. On September 12th, Ethiopia celebrates the beginning of its New Millenium (Julian calendar). We feel that it is important to pay tribute to this amazing place.
Here’s a little about the coffees:
Yirgacheffe Koke:
Koke was one of the first places in Yirgacheffe to process their beans using
the washed method in 1959. This is a nice clean cup with great balanced acitity
and flavors of roots and herbs as well as sweet fruit. This coffee was
judged the "Best Ethiopian Coffee" at the East African Fine Coffee
Association's annual contest. Taste for yourself.
South Sidamo Shakisso:
This coffee is Certified Organic. This coffee is grown in an area called
the Dewa valley which is about as remote a coffee growing area you can get in
the ancient Ethiopian forests. It is hand-washed and dried on wooden
tables. This processing method gives it a nice earthy note that
accompanies the citric, grape coolaid acidity. The processing methods and the varietal itself are very historic.
The coffee's nickname is "The Gold of Ethiopia" because one of the farmers
claims that King Solomon's secret gold mines are right next to his farm.
According to Peter at Counter Culture, it is the perfect summer coffee.
He even tastes Strawberry in it!
Yirgacheffe Worka:
The other day, I finally had a chance to sit down with a whole cup all to
myself. I found that the citrusy acidity was very well balanced with the
honey and fruit which lead to an almost butterscotch aftertaste. This one
has been knocking peoples’ socks off. It
is a washed Yirgacheffe. The Worka Espresso
is lemony and lively.
Sidamo Beloya Selection One:
This coffee was the highest priced coffee at the Ethiopia Limited auction this
year. It is super fruity. It has a deeper fruit that some of the
other coffees we are serving this month with notes of prunes and dried dark
fruit. It is well rounded and easy drinking but fills your mouth with
plenty to taste. This is one of the most exciting Ethiopian coffees of
the year. This coffee was processed by
S.A. Bagersh, the famed producer of the
Yirgacheffe Aricha Selection Seven:
Peaches, blackberry jam, and flowers! This coffee is making all sorts of
waves. A special thing about this coffee is that Yirgs are generally
washed. We all know that a natural Yirg produces some insane fruit.
Some people compare it to the Esmeralda. I have not tasted them side by
side but I would guess that the Aricha will be a little lighter and livelier. S.A. Bagersh processed this coffee too.
-Ed
What a delightful month, what can we do next to top this?
On top of that, no one could have described it better, nice job as Extraction Executive Officer with all these offerings on the Clover by the way!
Posted by: Jay | September 06, 2007 at 10:00 PM
This is really cool.
Posted by: Daniel Humphries | September 12, 2007 at 01:11 PM