Ethiopia Natural Chelbessa Danche – Amavida Coffee Roasters

I try a lot of naturally processed Ethiopian coffees both because they are fairly common in the speciality coffee market and also they are my favorite. As such, I am always excited when I find a new and unique natural Ethiopian to try. This one from Amavida Coffee Roasters was a wonderful mix of both the expected and the unexpected.

The coffee is from the Danche washing station, the highest elevation washing station in Worka Chelbessa, Ethiopia. This area is quite high in elevation, which can lead to a beautiful development of flavors in the bean. This washing station also has focused on organic coffees over the past few years, which is all that Amavida roasts.

The coffee begins with a sweet fragrance of blueberry, chocolate and rich lemon citrus. At the bloom during brew, there was a beautiful aroma of sweet berries mixed with crisp citrus notes. The flavor reminded me of blueberry and raspberry jam (my favorite flavor note!) and citrus. As the coffee cooled the berry flavor notes continued to grow stronger and become even more pronounced. What surprised me most in the coffee though was the rich, syrupy body. Usually naturally processed Ethiopian coffees can be quite light in the body, many times almost tea-like. This coffee on the other hand was rich and syrupy, which was a beautiful, unexpected surprise.

The acidity was quite crisp and strong throughout and the sweetness was prominent, full of berry notes and lingered through the aftertaste. The coffee worked great both in pour over and espresso, where the brightness, sweetness and berry notes carried through beautifully.

The Bottom Line

It is hard for me to be surprised by certain styles of coffee now that I have tried so many, but Chelbessa Danche from Amavida did just that. The pairing of sweet, berry notes + crisp, lemon citrus and a rich, syrupy body was a true surprise and created a truly delicious combination.