Ethiopia Yirgacheffe – Guillermo’s Gourmet Coffee

Guillermo’s Gourmet Coffee is a roaster based out of Little Rock, Arkansas. I recently got to try three of their coffees: Velvet Hammer (a dark roast blend from Kenya & Sumatra), G3 Espresso (a medium roast from Brazil, Sumatra and Costa Rica) and Ethiopia Yirgacheffe (a light-roasted, single-origin coffee from Ethiopia). As I always do when given the opportunity to try multiple coffees from the same roaster, I cupped the three coffees side-by-side; each of these coffees were incredibly unique from one another. Not only were their roast levels different, but the combinations of coffees in each blend led to some really interesting variance between them when tried one after the other. While each coffee had merits of its own, the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe stood out as the front-runner to me.

The coffee has an incredibly layered and exciting aroma that was strong, bright, fruity and floral—all at the same time. Strawberry was the predominant note I smelled, but so many others were layered underneath it. African coffees are usually bright, fruity and floral, but this one felt extremely pronounced—especially when paired against the other two coffees in the cupping.

In the flavor I tasted notes of deep cherry, rich berry and floral undertones. It had a light tea-like body and a well-rounded, fruity sweetness. The brightness and sweetness were a bit subdued for a naturally processed coffee and I wish both were a bit more pronounced. Overall the coffee was well-balanced, clean and had some nice complexity with the layering of flavors.

The Bottom Line

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe from Guillermo’s Gourmet Coffee fits the profile of your expected naturally processed Ethiopian coffee almost perfectly. If you enjoy the fruit-forward, yet floral complexity of a high-quality naturally processed coffee from Africa, this is a great coffee to try.