Shakiso Kayon Mountain from Windmill Coffee Roasters is a hit from beginning to end. The experience begins with an incredibly intense, sweet fragrance of tropical fruit and berry. As I began to drink the coffee, the flavor notes of papaya and blueberry were immediately identifiable. I did not pick up any floral notes, but it could be that the fruit notes simply overpowered any floral notes present.
The two other attributes that hit me right from the beginning were the acidity and sweetness. Each sip is bursting with mouth-watering acidity and a chocolatey sweetness that compliments the fruit notes incredibly well. At the end of each sip, there was a crisp finish with a lingering acidity on the sides of my tongue.
The word I would use to describe this coffee is intense. Intense flavor notes, intense brightness, intense sweetness. Even with all of the intensity though, the coffee was incredibly clean and balanced. The only fault I really found in the coffee was the body that bordered on being a bit too thin (though a thinner body is more common in light-roasted, naturally-processed African coffees).
I tried the coffee as a v60 pour over, espresso and Japanese iced cold brew—it excelled in all of them. The pour over is the most traditional way I would enjoy a coffee like this, but I was very impressed with how the flavor notes, acidity and sweetness all came through in the other methods as well.
The Bottom Line
This has been one of the best naturally processed Ethiopian coffees I have had in a while. The fruit notes were stunning and it was an incredible drinking experience from start to finish. If you enjoy light roasted, fruit-forward African coffees, this is one you have to try.
