Ethiopia Choruso [light roast]

In March 2024, Emily and Michael from ZEM COFFEE visited Kurasu Ebisugawa and held a cupping event for the new crop.

Ethiopia Hamasho, released last year, was also purchased from them, and although the exporter they work with has changed, the high quality and compelling flavor remain intact.

Not only the flavor produced by the land (terroir), but also "their flavor" can be felt from the lots that Ethiopia Catalyst provides.

Of course, the flavors differ depending on the area and the process, but I feel like their coffee conveys something like a soul, an underlying attitude or way of thinking about coffee. (Although, this is not a spiritual thing, but rather the reliability of their philosophy and system.)

This Chorso was on the far left of the cupping table. Last year's Hamasho had a clean, floral and gorgeous impression, but Chorso has a floral yet spicy flavor, and is a bit like a foreign sweet, making it an interesting coffee. I don't usually choose Ethiopia, but I was attracted by its unique balance and decided to buy it.

Coffee is fascinating because there is always something new to discover.

I'm already looking forward to next season! But first, I'll bake this delicious Chorso and deliver it to you all.

ZEM's Coffee Cherry Co-Fermentation begins with smallholder farmers delivering perfectly ripe cherries to the washing station. We pay a higher price for these cherries, which are first placed in flotation tanks, where the less dense cherries float away and are removed, leaving only the best quality cherries to be selected. They are then transferred to drying tables where they are carefully hand washed to remove any imperfections.

The selected cherries are transferred to a cement hopper and then to a rough pulping disc to remove the skins, after which the kernels are transferred to density channels and tanks to begin fermentation, which removes the sticky mucilage that surrounds the kernels.

This is where ZEM's unique "Coffee Cherry Co-Fermentation" takes place. The common method is to cover the pulped beans with water and let them ferment, but we have our own method. Cherry skins removed by pulping are added at a certain stage of fermentation to add rich flavor to the coffee. After this process, the parchment coffee is then transferred to a washing channel and carefully washed with filtered water from a local river. While singing to the rhythm, the workers rub the coffee with wooden rakes and continue washing until the water runs clear.

Once washed, the parchment coffee is transferred onto wood and wire trays and left to dry for 6-10 hours until the water naturally drips off. The beans are then further dried outdoors, still wrapped in parchment, on shaded drying racks, where the sun removes excess moisture. Once the coffee has reached the desired dryness, it is bagged and transported to a regional processing plant. It is then sent to Addis Ababa for final processing, where it is loaded into containers for export, and finally begins its journey from tree to cup.

Hand drip! I think a lower concentration is best.