Quick, quick, quick — put the kettle on and get the grinder out; don’t sleep on this creamiest of anaerobic coffees from Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone! Anaerobics comprise only a tiny fraction of Ethiopia’s coffee exports, but the producers who undertake the process do so with masterful precision, to great effect.
That’s why we leapt at the chance to bring in this intensely fruity, candy-like lot from Biloya Station, where the cherries from small farms nearby are hand-sorted for uniform ripeness, fermented in oxygen-deprived tanks for 24 hours, dried in the sun for 3 weeks, then hulled and prepared for export. During this process, the sugars have ample time to develop as the fruit breaks down, safe from oxidization or rotting.
Whether the banana tree relatives grown near the coffee plants have anything to do with the tasting notes is anyone’s guess — either way, run-don’t-walk and snag this very limited offering, on the double!
