Basha Bekele Ethiopia – Little Wolf via Honey & Roses

I received this Ethiopian coffee from Little Wolf from Honey & Roses, a marketplace for boutique businesses. In addition to offering coffee, they sell products from craft bakers, chocolatiers and a range of artisanal home good companies. It is more than just a subscription service, but instead a more intimate marketplace. They focus on the personal interactions with customers and work to “bring the coffee shop home.” I let Joe & Ella at Honey & Roses know my favorite profile of coffee (bright, berry-forward naturally processed coffees) and they selected this one and another Ethiopian from the roaster Yaw Farm. Both coffees were spot on with my preference and this naturally processed Ethiopian may have been my favorite Ethiopian coffee in the past few months.

The coffee began with a strong fragrance of intense fruit (especially berries) that was jammy and sweet. The flavor was amazing with notes of blueberry, raspberry and citrus. It was so sweet and jammy and became even more so as it cooled. The strong acidity was lime citrus-toned, but not overpowering. The sweetness was jammy and berry through and through. The aftertaste lingered with the sweetness and acidity and deeper fruit notes (cherry). There was a nice level of complexity with the layering of flavors, though not as much evolution in each sip (besides the crescendoing sweetness).

The Bottom Line

Basha Bekele Ethiopia was exactly my style of coffee. It was the most jammy coffee I’ve had in a long time and I loved every sip. Honey & Roses was a great way to learn more about the coffee and I can’t wait to try some more of their offerings—coffee & otherwise.