Crown Jewel Ethiopia Gedeb Banko Dhadhato FT-FLO/USA Organic Washed CJO1543 – LOT 02 – 31707-1 – SPOT RCWHSE

Taste

Taste Analysis by Chris Kornman 

Coffee trader Caitlin McCarthy-García turned us on to this lovely late arrival from the Banko Dhadhato cooperative, a delightfully gentle, floral and sweet coffee we just can’t seem to stop sipping. 

In many ways it’s a classic of the genre, a tried and true southern Ethiopian flavor profile, with peach and melon sweetness, a lemon basil/jasmine floral character, and a milk chocolatey backdrop. It’s not without nuance, however, and we found some lovely tart pineapple and cranberry fruit flavors, as well as a gentle warming cinnamon. 

Perfect for pour-overs, the coffee’s also versatile and would surely make a lovely single origin espresso or even a killer cold brew. We’ll leave it up to you to figure out how you enjoy brewing it most! 

Source

Source Analysis by Royal Coffee and YCFCU 

Banko Dhadhato is a village in Gedeb, which is a woreda to the south of Yirgacheffe in the Gedeo Zone of Ethiopia’s Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region. The village’s cooperative, of the same name, processes coffee for over 1,100 farmer members in an area of just over 900 hectares. The cooperative is a member of the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union, the YCFCU, which has operated in the Gedeo zone since 2002 and currently boasts 28 stations and more than 45,000 farmer members. 

Gedeo, while tiny compared to neighboring Sidama and Guji zones, is one of Ethiopia’s most densely populated areas after its capital city, Addis Ababa. The members of each primary cooperative elect their own executive committee, which makes decisions about investments like new equipment and tree maintenance, and how to structure payments to the coop members. YCFCU also appoints professional managers for each primary cooperative to oversee harvest and processing procedures, who are accountable to the members and the executive committee. All YCFCU cooperatives are certified organic and fairtrade. 

The union has played a very important role in the front to improve the livelihoods of all its members. Prior to the YCFCU’s establishment, the existent primary cooperatives then were unable to get financial support to conduct business on their own. Due to the debts incurred in the past because of political interference and governance factors, the majority of the cooperatives were struggling financially and could not in any way gain credibility to access financial support from lending financial institutions. The story has now changed. Currently the union tries to solve these problems and manages the primary cooperatives to be credible to financial institutions and also helps members build capacity to become stable and have enough working capital for their business’ sustainability.  

Green

Green Analysis by Chris Kornman 

A clean, fresh coffee in both appearance and fragrance, this lovely Grade 2 Ethiopia is small in screen size, a little above average in density, and right in the pocket for moisture and water activity. It’s completely free of primary defects and I didn’t note any substantial secondaries on inspection and roasting. The only reason I can imagine this coffee slipped from Grade 1 status is that it’s a bit on the small size. (If you’re interested in the gritty details of Ethiopian Grading, check out our recent blog on the topic.) 

While there are certainly true heirloom coffees grown in much of Ethiopia, it’s also true that a relatively small number of highly controlled cultivars — both lab-crafted hybrids and selected landraces — are often the main components of specialty coffees throughout the nation. The selections have not been denoted here for us, but it’s fair to assume they are similar stock to the greater southern coffee regions, hardy and well adapted for cultivation in this, one of the world’s most coveted terroirs.

Diedrich IR-5

Diedrich IR-5 Analysis by Chris Kornman 

 This gentle coffee expressed some unique floral characteristics when it was sample roasted, and while I enjoyed the first cupping I wanted to try a slightly softer approach than we might otherwise take with washed Ethiopian coffees. The usual thinking is that these dense, bright beans can take a decent amount of heat, but with it being a bit late in the season and the coffee having slightly softer physical specs, I chose to charge at a moderate temperature and shoot for a slightly longer Maillard and caramelization stage. 

The coffee played along well with my plan, and despite a relatively low initial burner setting I was able to pull out of the early drying stage in well under 5 minutes. Dropping the gas to 30% (our minimum setting) and quickly opening the airflow at color change allowed a reasonably long Maillard stage. 

The only hitch in the plan was that by the time I reached the first crack my rate of change was already under 15F/minute. The crack was quite soft, almost imperceptible. I’m sure with a more aggressive approach it would be more audible, I’d already made my bed. I briefly cut the burners to avoid a plateauing change rate and coasted to a fairly low end temperature, relying primarily on sight and smell to guide me to a light (but not too light) roast. 

The 55.75 (ground) Colortrack score was a little darker than I’d hoped for, but no evidence of over-roast was present on the cupping table. I picked up caramel and graham cracker sweetness, a light fruitiness that reminded me of lime, peach, and pear, the crispness of a fresh-picked sugar snap pea, and a clear chamomile florality. 

It’s a very nice, albeit slightly subtle coffee that shouldn’t offer much resistance in the roaster and can likely be taken a fair bit darker than I’ve done here without overshadowing its lovely, delicate flavors. 

Ikawa Pro V3

Ikawa Pro V3 Analysis by Isabella Vitaliano  

Our current Ikawa practice compares two sample roast profiles, originally designed for different densities of green coffee. The two roasts differ slightly in total length, charge temperature, and time spent between color change in first crack. You can learn more about the profiles here. 

Leaning towards the end of the Ethiopia season, this coffee is reminiscent of darker fruit, a pear-like, sugary cup that will keep you going until the next season comes around. With the help of Chris, we see how this slightly more delicate bean handles both the LD and HD sample roast profiles.  

On the high-density roast, we got notes of dark fruit, honey toast, lemon, bergamot, and lime. The cup held tons of sweetness and mellowed off in acidity as it cooled. The light-density roast was bright, clean, floral, graham cracker with some peach to round it all out. It felt a little bit more floral and with a rounder body.  

The last coffee on the table was the analysis roast going head-to-head with the sample roasts. The analysis roast felt noticeably more nuanced, balanced, and complex with an incredible buttery-like texture. From chamomile to confectioner’s sugar, pear, and vanilla, this roast was hard to beat.  

Of the two sample roasts we both preferred the low-density roast; it hints at the possibilities of the nuanced character that we experienced in the analysis roast. However, the high-density roast does have great character and displays that the green can take the heat well. Enjoy this Ethiopian while it lasts and grab a box! Or two! 

You can roast your own by linking to our profiles in the Ikawa Pro app here: 

Roast 1: Low Density Sample Roast 

Roast 2: High Density Sample Roast   

Brew

Brew Analysis by Joshua Wismans 

 Banko Dhadato and this coffee from YCFCU represent what makes Yirgacheffe coffees brilliant.  Community lots, cooperative processes, and pristine flavors in the cup.  This lot highlights the best of the famed region while distinguishing itself with a sweetness I’ve rarely come across.  No matter what way you brew it, you’ll find a depth of tropical and citrus notes rounded out by an incredible sweetness. That being said, make sure you use a coarse grind, as this coffee is incredibly soluble and will become heavy and syrupy if your grind is too fine. 

 For our first brew, we used the brew recipe for a washed Ethiopian that we are currently offering on our pour-over bar. We ground the coffee relatively coarse at an 11 on our EK43S, with a 1:15.79 coffee-to-water ratio.  With this recipe, we ended up with an unexpectedly high TDS of 1.68.  While delicious, the coffee was a bit syrupy, though still maintained great grape and melon notes.

Our next brew was a classic over-correction, as the TDS was so high on the last brew.  We took the grind significantly coarser than we usually ever do, and still ended up with a TDS of 1.32.  While a touch on the thin side for our liking, what was revealed were complex notes of pomegranate, persimmon, and lemon basil.
 

For the Goldilocks brew, we made the grind slightly finer while keeping the rest of the parameters the same.  It’s worth it to note that this grind setting was still quite a bit coarser than we usually use.  What we ended up with was a brew that captured the complexity of the second brew with the sweetness of the first; a complex mélange of crème brulee, grapefruit, and nectarine.  A gorgeous cup to say the least. 

It’s always a pleasure to feature a beautiful coffee like this from Yirgacheffe. For this coffee, we recommend a very coarse grind, a moderate dose, and a flat-bottom brewer like the Kalita Wave.