Ethiopia Sidama Basha Bekele – Applied Arts Coffee

I featured a review of a delicious PNG coffee from Applied Arts Coffee two weeks ago and I’m very excited to share another excellent coffee from the Portland roaster—Ethiopia Sidama Basha Bekele. This light-roasted Ethiopian has a wonderful layered flavor profile and a great mix of citrus and berry.

The coffee began with a sweet, creamy fragrance of melon, strawberries, and subtle citrus; during brewing, I got strong whiffs of vanilla. The flavor profile starts with punchy citrus and rich berry notes. It is very sweet with lemon honey and creamy citrus notes. I really enjoyed the balance between the punchy and soft attributes; it felt almost like a mix between a natural and a washed processed coffee. The sweetness lingered in the finish with a sparkle of lemon citrus to finish every sip.

The Bottom Line

Overall this was a wonderful Ethiopian coffee with lots of depth of flavor and a nice evolution as it cooled. This coffee was added to my list of excellent coffees from Applied Arts this year.