BOMBE WASHED
ETHIOPIA / WASHED
Producers: Small-holders of the Shantawene, Bombe, and Keramo communities
Region: Bensa Woreda, Sidama Zone, Ethiopia
Cultivar: Local Sidama Landraces and JARC Speciality Cultivars
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1900m - 2250m asl
Roast Level: Light

Coffee Arabica blossomed in the highlands of Southern Ethiopia, and the country’s farmers still have a completely unique bank of cultivars and landraces available to them compared to the rest of the coffee world. These plants play an important role in the distinct and much-loved flavour profiles Ethiopian coffee has. Farming communities, diverse micro-climates, and dizzying altitudes play equally important roles in creating these unique flavours beyond the plants themselves and the producers in Sidama are known globally for some truly exceptional coffee.
Bombe wet mill has become a firm favourite at Artisan Roast in recent years. As with any wet mill in Ethiopia a micro-lot will usually combine the coffee harvest of hundreds of farmers in any one day. For Bombe that means bringing together the Shantawene, Bombe, and Keramo communities. Typically, after de-pulping the fruit, the fermentation of coffee in Sidama takes place in water filled tanks. However, this micro-lot has been dry fermented without the use of water which changes not only the speed of fermentation, but the resulting flavour profile too.
The outcome in this coffee is an accentuated florality and rounded, layered, fruitiness to the profile. Heady aromas of jasmine combine with a bright and vibrant grapefruit citrus note. These primary flavours lead onto notes of peach, milk chocolate and a little sweet spice. A delicate oolong tea like quality to the mouthfeel allows these flavours to find space to shine and a honeyed sweetness adds balance. A positive and juicy citrus acidity enhances the ripe grapefruit note as the coffee cools.
We've roasted this coffee light with filter, French press or aeropress brewing in mind and recommend enjoying this coffee without milk. Here the perfumed florality, complexity of the fruit notes, and oolong like mouthfeel are most expressive. It’s a coffee to linger over too, where the balance and honeyed sweetness progressively unfolds as the coffee cools.