What I’m Brewing: Ethiopia Uraga Indigo Lot 0412 by Grandmother Coffee Roastery
Ethiopia Uraga Indigo Lot 0412
Roaster: Grandmother Coffee Roastery
Origin: Ethiopia
Region: Oromia
Varietal: Heirloom
Altitude: 1700-2000 masl
Process: Carbonic Maceration Natural
Notes: Raspberry, dates, fig sparkling acidity
I hate wasting coffee and I also can’t help myself when something unique catches my eye, or in this case - tastebuds. This all started when a friend recommended Ethiopian beans from Grandmother Coffee Roastery, previous post about my visit here in case you missed it. This coffee hails from Uraga which is one of the woredas i.e. another word for district, in Ethiopia. Before the cherries of this farm are naturally processed, they undergo the carbonic caceration process.
To understand carbonic maceration, you need to understand fermentation. All coffee will experience some measure of fermentation when they are processed. Washed process will undergo fermentation in the water and continues during the drying process as well. Natural process is more straight forward, fermentation happens as the cherries are left to dry i.e. the microorganisms are actively breaking down the sugar in the fruit.
Another popular term trending with these experimental lots is anaerobic fermentation. Anaerobic means no oxygen or lacking in oxygen where as carbonic means rich in carbon dioxide. Why these processes are expensive because not every farmer or producer out there can afford to invest in the equipment. And as there are no standards set by the industry to produce these kinds of coffee, it can lead to some degree of wastage and losses.
When anaerobic or carbonic fermentation is involved, the environment in which the coffee is placed needs to sealed and controlled. They maybe placed in airtight stainless steel tanks or plastic bags. The lack of oxygen in this case will produce intense flavor in the beans compared to traditionally processed coffee. The process can last for days and this will vary with different producers.
Similarly processed coffee which undergo carbonic maceration tend to have distinct fruit notes and then turn it up by several notches, which will not be found in any traditionally processed coffee. Notes of red fruits like plum, peaches and berries can be found in this Ethiopian. Other notes in the background will be more prominent as the drink cools down unearthing some of its complexity unique to its origin and terroir.
In the carbonic maceration process, the coffee cherry is left in tact and does not go through a pulping process prior to entering a sealed environment. Sorting and cleaning the cherries before the fermentation process after careful harvesting is an absolute necessity. Immature cherries and dirt are removed from the ripe cherries which can alter your fermentation process.
The cherries are then added to an airtight container and the process can take days or weeks. Pressure in the tank is controlled to a desired level to optimally break down the sugar. How do you know that the coffee is ready and its time to end the process? Some producers experiment by adding water in the tank. During the end of the process, the water becomes filled with byproducts of the fermentation and starts fizzing out of an outlet valve.
This could very well be a post about carbonic maceration but it is a rabbit hole that I will someday explore in detail, maybe when I have a chance to visit a farm where these experimental processes are taking place. Coming back to the coffee, out of the bag the beans smell like a basket of red fruits. Freshly grounded, you can smell the red fruits again but also some baked chocolate in there.
I prefer using the grind size 13 on the Baratza Encore for the V60 and 12 on the Aeropress. It has a nice medium body, I can taste clear berry notes with complimenting acidity in the background when hot. As it cools down, the sweetness of the red fruits shine through and the sparkling berries start to tone down.
I’m yet to try this on the Chemex, and also very keen to brew this using the Iced V60 method. For the Aeropress, I use Dan de coffee man’s recipe. Very simple recipe and highlight the notes of this coffee.
Coffee: 12g
Water: 200g
Temperature: 88-92 Degrees C
Ratio: 1:16
Grind: Medium Fine
Method: Inverted
Total Brew Time: 2 minutes
Pour 50g of water into the coffee and stir well. This is your bloom. Wait for 40 seconds. Pour water until the scale reads a total of 200g. Place the filter cap on the brewer and flip the Aeropress. Wait until 2 minutes and start pressing gently.
My preferred recipe for the V60:
Coffee: 20g
Water: 300g
Temperature: 90 Degrees C
Grind: Medium Fine
Ratio: 1:15
Total Brew Time: 2 minutes
Pour 75g of water into the coffee in roughly 15 seconds. Bloom for 30 seconds. At 30 seconds mark, add another 75g of water in 15 seconds. Repeat this step two more times till you reach a total of 300g of brew weight and total 2 mins time. I’ll always start in the center of the bed and aim for slow concentric circles making sure all the grounds have been saturated. Needless to say that each pour should be consistent.
Try the recipes and let me know what you think. Grandmother Roastery have some fresh incoming Rwandan coffee which I can’t wait to try. Have you visited them yet?
Read more about Grandmother Coffee Roastery.
