2017-11-17 — Ethiopia Sidama Nansebo
Roast Date: 17 Nov 2017Duration: 11m20s
First Crack @ 8m
1.2lb → 1.03lb; 14% Weight Loss
Sweet Maria’s
Nansebo has an herbal sweetness like rue, backed with a flavor of white honey in City/City+ roasting that makes for a deliciously sweet Ethiopian cup. Clove spice hints mark the dry fragrance, along with perfumed orange smells in our light roasts. The wet aroma has a canned peach scent that culminates in a likeness of peach pie with graham cracker crust. As a brewed coffee, Nansebo pushes a deep level of honey sweetness at a wide range of roasts, City and City+ roasts striking a nice level of balance between fruited sweetness and a orange-like brightness. The cooling cup offers glimpses of stone fruit and citrus notes too, tart apricot, nectarine, and a slightly underripe orange flavor register. There’s a contrasting, pleasant bittering sensation too that reminds me of peach skins too, sweet-to-tart flavors rounding out the long finish. Full City roast bear some darker fruited notes, plum and prune juice, but in low volume comparatively to core bittersweetness of honey-backed cocoa powder. Acidity is more muted at Full City too, and I found ours to make incredible single origin espresso. Espresso shots have focuesed fruited notes, blueberry and dark chocolate, tenedam spice, fresh coriander, and a nice citrus zing.
Acidity: Definitely a citrusy kick.
Sweetness: The sweetness in this coffee is good, not overbearing, but strange. It’s hard to place where it is.
Mouthfeel: Somewhat astringent. I don’t think this was underroasted but it may have been underdeveloped, given the weight loss.
Flavor: This is much richer than the last Ethiopian I had; not to say I prefer the last one but it was more approachable. I would mostly compare it to plums and plum juice.
Finish: A lot of the flavor lingers in the finish, instead of what usually is at best a ghost of the flavor.
Balance: This is a good coffee but I need to spend more time with it to really get it. The rich plum notes are great but so unusual I am still trying to figure it out.