(5 = Extraordinary to 1= Satisfactory)

ACIDITY 4 BODY 3 AROMA 5 COMPLEXITY 5 BALANCE 4 SPICEY - CHOCOLATY CARAMELLY - NUTTY - BUTTERY - FRUITY FLOWERY WINEY EARTHY

Don't have a cow...... Have a Horse!

The birthplace of the coffee plant continues to produce the most ancient and some of the most unique coffees in the world. Harrar is known as "the coffee of Kings" grown in the original coffee country and dried naturally on the trees. This adds a wildness to the cup which is also spicey, fruity and flowery... quite complex. Because this coffee isn't washed during processing it has a rougher, wilder taste than the washed Ethiopians (Sidamos, Yirgacheffes...). As one of the first "specialty coffees", it rarely made it to Europe and the Americas because the Saudis traditionally paid the most for these beans. (Mocha or Mokha was the name of the African port the coffee was shipped from - closed by a giant sandbar in the early 20th century).

The aroma will get your attention first. Contemplate the panoply of starling blueberries, strawberries, peaches, cinnamon, and wild flowery aromas. Primordial and exotic. The taste is what your nose has prepared you for. It's overtly wild and earthy with outstanding balance. Its brightness really shines while it's still hot but does ebb as the temperature cools, especially in darker roasts.

This coffee is versatile with something good to offer across the entire roast spectrum. Many compare it to Yemen Mokha.

If you don't like it the first time try roasting it a little differently and it may become your favorite. On the other hand, if it is a favorite and you get a "bad cup" it usually means you roasted the new batch differently so be careful.

THIS ONE IS FOR THE TRUE COFFEE ROMANTIC AS IT IS TRANCE INDUCING! The cup has sweet fruit, jasmine, sweet basil, apricot and blueberry, finishing with a mild leathery-earthiness. It's the kind of cup that makes you want to drink a gallon of coffee ... watch out! It is easy to understand why this one is the original coffee of the kings.

Roast: Harrar is most fruity in a lighter City roast (completely through 1st crack...just before the 2nd crack) and turns deeply pungent in French roasts. Between the two, a Vienna roast can possess the best of both. We prefer Full City. Also, Harrar will roast unevenly! This is not a bad thing, but if there are extremely pale beans in the roast you might want to cull them (at the risk of removing some of the extreme (earthy-husky) flavors in the cup.

Archive Photo

Click here for more info on this origin