Ethiopia Gedeb Lot 338 Landrace – Modcup Coffee

Modcup is a roaster based out of New Jersey with a wide array of rare and experimental coffees. I recently had the opportunity to try a wide swath of their offerings and loved the variety and complexity between the set. This Ethiopian lot of heirloom varieties though really stood out to me as a special coffee among the others.

The coffee began with a berry-forward fragrance that reminded me of blueberries and raspberries. The flavor had a wonderful mix of fruit and chocolate featuring notes of ripe berries and even watermelon candy, as well as creamy milk chocolate nougat. The mouthfeel was smooth yet crisp and chocolate-toned; the acidity reminded me of honeycrisp apples. The coffee had a fruity sweetness that was almost candy-like and a malty, sweet finish that lingered long after each sip.

The Bottom Line

This coffee played into some of my favorite qualities of naturally processed Ethiopians coffees—it was intensely sweet, had beautiful fruit/berry notes, and had enough complexity between the evolving sweetness and fruit/chocolate interplay to make it exciting to drink.