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Blog — Natural

Natural Wonders: Three Unique Takes on Natural Processing

Posted by Lori Bailey on

Natural Wonders: Three Unique Takes on Natural Processing

When we talk about flavor in coffee, we’re never talking about just one factor. From the varietal of bean to the soil it grew in—all the way to how it fermented and dried, and how it was roasted—flavor is a journey, a story in the making. And it ends, most deliciously of all, with a sip from your very own cup.True, we talk a lot about coffee processing: the factor we’ve found to have the most pronounced impact on flavor. And no process is richer in history and tradition than the natural process. An age-old technique mastered first in Ethiopia,...

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Origin Week: East Africa

Posted by Lori Bailey on

Origin Week: East Africa

Over the next few months, we'll be taking some time here and there to highlight coffee themes we find intriguing, informative, and inspiring—and, y'know, just straight-up fun. So, to start off: welcome to Origin Week, where we're focusing in on some of the countries and regions of origin that produce the coffees we love so much. Beginning, appropriately, with where coffee started: East Africa. Nestled among the picturesque landscapes and fertile soils of countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Burundi, the coffee of East Africa has earned a distinguished reputation for distinctive flavors and unparalleled quality. The region's centuries-old coffee industry...

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Lotta Love for Gatta: A Sky-High Score for Gatta Anaerobic

Posted by Lori Bailey on

Lotta Love for Gatta: A Sky-High Score for Gatta Anaerobic

We know our Gatta Anaerobic is good. Crazy good. Good enough to take to competition, even. Still, when Coffee Review in their March tasting report awarded this recent Ethiopian micro lot with a soaring 94 points, we were blissfully over the moon. Gatta Anaerobic is Olympia Coffee's first-ever anaerobic coffee from Ethiopia, sourced from producer Kenean Dukamo of Gatta Farm in Sidamo. It also happens to be the only lot on Coffee Review's list that hails from the African continent. While more farms in Latin America seem to have jumped on anaerobic processing, the trend has picked up more slowly...

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Banko Natural - Ethiopia Scores 94 points on Coffee Review!

Posted by Oliver Stormshak on

Blind Assessment: Richly pungent; deep, complex. Strawberry, cedar, night-blooming flowers, dark chocolate, a hint of brandy. Balanced, vibrant acidity; full, syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor, particularly chocolate, saturates a sweet, very slightly drying, finish. Notes: This coffee is certified organically grown and Fair Trade certified, meaning it was purchased from small-holding farmers at a "fair" or economically sustainable price. It is a dry-processed or "natural" coffee, meaning the beans were dried inside the fruit rather than after the fruit has been removed, as is the case with wet-processed or "washed" coffees. Banko, established in 2012, is one of twenty-three primary cooperatives located...

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