Ethiopia Harar – Wake Coffee

Wake Coffee is a small-batch coffee roaster based in Ambler, Pennsylvania—just north of Philadelphia. They have a super cool brand with beautiful packaging, which always catches my eye as a designer. I was super excited to try their naturally processed Ethiopia Harar to see how it compared to some others from the same origin that I have tried recently.

The coffee begins with undeniable berry notes in the aroma that explode from the moment you open the bag and become even more pronounced once you grind the coffee. As I began drinking the coffee, I tasted the berry notes (though less pronounced than I was expecting given their strength in the aroma), subtle floral undertones, almond and chocolate. All of the flavor notes were a bit muted though and I would have loved even stronger flavors given the intensity of the aroma. The flavors were actually most pronounced 15-20 minutes after brewing once the coffee cooled to near room temperature and I found this is when I liked the coffee the best.

The coffee had a medium body and was a bit thicker than most other naturally processed, light-roasted African coffees I’ve tried. I actually liked this though and it added a nice unique element to a coffee style I am very familiar with.

My favorite attribute of the coffee was the finish. The aftertaste was incredibly smooth and at the end there was a sparkle of acidity that swelled up at end to act as an explanation mark at the end of each sip.

The Bottom Line

I love this style of coffee and as a result, this one didn’t disappoint. I do wish the flavor notes were a bit more intense, but overall this was a delicious coffee with a lot going for it.