Clifton Coffee - Ethiopia: Burtukaana (Natural)

Our partners at Nordic Approach have increasingly found & delivered us some outstanding Ethiopian coffees over the years. In the last 6 months alone, we’ve enjoyed the stunningly peachy washed Biftu Gudina as well as the natural Diima. So it is with great excitement that we launch this Burtukaana natural from Sidamo, our 5th Ethiopian selection for 2016.

The local wetmill here is located in the village of Balo near the river of Hamile in the southern region of Sidamo, Ethiopa & is owned by Gashu Tafese. They’re producing just 5 containers of green coffee per year and the mill receives cherry from around 650-750 local smallholders.

Cherries are hand sorted for un-ripes and over-ripes by the farmers before they go into floatation tanks where the cherry is covered with water and those that float are removed. The cherry is dried in the sun for about 15-18 days, depending on the weather conditions, on African drying beds on hessian cloths to achieve an optimal 11% moisture content utilising plastic covers or shade nets during midday and at night to protect the cherry.

Again, we’ve found this natural to be super well refined and complex. Much more controlled in its ‘boozy’ notes compared to many naturals that often get dominated by that overly fermented characteristic. This coffee shows great structure.