Weessi Tima

When we went to Ethiopia in February, we aimed to go visit all of our key supply chain partners in country. We visited Mike Mamo's Addis Exporter lab - where Ture Waji also partners for export operations. We cupped fresh crop samples from Mike and Ture, and confirmed many of our returning coffees - and a few new ones.

On this table was a set of yellow honey lots - the only difference between them being the number of hours on the sample name. This lot ("48 hrs") had such an electric and compelling acidity that we were smitten - supremely zippy and fresh. With more context from Ture, this is a sequence of honey lots with a post pulp anoxic (an environment without oxygen) fermentation step before drying, and while they were all very good the 48 hrs seemed to be the sweet spot for our preferences. Super zippy & crisp and distinct.

This one is an interesting one - we find honey process lots tend to sit somewhere between washed and naturals when it comes to the sort of heat and time they require at the end of the roast, as one might expect, but generally tending to be closer to washed than natural. But then the curveball aspect in this case is something pulling it in two opposite directions - it's an anoxic processed lot, but also a very high density high altitude small screen size coffee. We've ended up splitting the difference - marginally longer overall roasting than our typical Ethiopian lots, slightly longer development time, slightly lower end temperature than we would for a washed lot. Our first test roasts were very, very light but rested out well, so we're tweaking the amount of development to get them to open earlier without adding too much roaster influence and preserve the maximum amount of electric acidity and florals we love in this coffee.

Produced by Ture Waji, the Weessi Tima is a standout offering from Ethiopia, a country renowned for its diverse and complex coffee profiles. This specific lot is processed using the yellow honey method, a technique that sits between washed and natural styles by leaving a portion of the mucilage on the bean during drying. Generally, processing methods like honey processing are utilized to influence the final cup’s sweetness and body, often resulting in a balance that bridges the clarity of washed coffees with the fruit-forward characteristics of naturals.

Sourced by Dayglow, this coffee highlights the meticulous work of producers in Ethiopia who continue to refine post-harvest techniques. When evaluating the nuances of such a unique process, tasters often find it helpful to reference the flavor wheel to identify the specific aromatic compounds and taste descriptors that emerge from the interaction between the bean and the remaining fruit sugars.