OQ Coffee Co.

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We're sold out!  For a similar coffee, try the Nigusie Estate here.

Since 2008, much (if not most) of Ethiopia's coffee goes anonymously through the privately owned, government warehoused Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX).  Aside from cooperatives and large estates, coffees are sold through the ECX to exporters and in the processes rebranded by region.  Or...more or less by region.  This lot was marked "Gelana Abaya", which used to be a district of the Oromia region in the southern zone of Borena; now, Gelana and Abaya are separate districts, but coffee from them can be marked as Gelana Abaya.  Unfortunately, unlike Nigusie's coffee (and the forthcoming Wato coffee), we don't know who produced this great coffee.  The ECX does promise that the farmer--most Ethiopian farmers have less than 1 hectare of land!--gets paid 80% of the final export price, which means (s)he probably got paid well for it...but we can't be sure.

As far as the coffee quality goes, however, this is the one of the best naturals we ever remember having.  It's dry-processed (natural, sun-dried), which means, as one of our cuppers put it, "Welcome to Berry-Town USA."  Unlike the normal blueberry and coffee fruit flavor, however, this coffee has a decidedly floral and intensely sweet aroma (one of those you wish you could grind and smell all day...coffee perfume anyone?).  It has a distinct cranberry flavor on top of a complex smorgasboard of fruity flavors: striking blueberry, plum, mango.  It's citric (lemony), with a light, but pleasant body.  It finishes with chocolate and blueberry notes...big time chocolate and blueberry notes!  Incidentally, it makes amazing espresso at even the lightest roasts.