Blind Assessment

Deeply sweet, fruit- and cocoa-toned. Baker’s chocolate, dried coconut, tea rose, almond, cedar in aroma and cup. Fruit-toned structure with round, gentle acidity; crisp though syrupy mouthfeel. The spice-toned finish suggests homemade fruitcake, with notes of dried fruit, nuts and warming spices.

Notes

This coffee tied for the third-highest rating in a tasting of 71 organic-certified coffees from Africa for Coffee Review’s November 2017 tasting report. Yirgacheffe is a coffee region in southern Ethiopia that produces distinctive coffees from traditional varieties of Arabica long grown in the region. This is a “natural” or dry-processed version, meaning the beans were dried inside the fruit, encouraging a flavor profile that is less predictable and deeper than the more familiar wet-processed floral- and citrus-toned Yirgacheffe profile. Like virtually all southern Ethiopia coffees, this coffee is produced by villagers on small, garden plots interplanted with food and other subsistence crops. Certified USDA organic. Named after the cofounders’ son, Ben, Ben’s Beans prides itself on ethical sourcing, as well as in donating a portion of proceeds to charities in the coffee-producing regions they work with. Visit www.bensbeans.org for more information.

Bottom Line

The overall impression of this natural-processed Yirgacheffe cup is equal parts dried fruit and chocolate, nicely elaborated by spice suggestions (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg).

Explore Similar Coffees

Click here for more reviews from Ben's Beans

Click here for more information about coffees from Ethiopia