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Tatmara Natural
US$18.90
A beautiful example of a natural processed coffee with complex fruity flavours from fermentation along with expressive floral notes from the cultivar.
Additional information
| Weight | .311 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 23 × 15 × 7.5 cm |
| Cultivar | |
| Producer | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Region | Dakiti, Kaffa |
| Process | Natural |
| Harvest | |
| Roast Profile | |
| Contents | Whole Coffee Beans |
| Bag Size | 250g |
Tatmara is one of the most beautiful coffee plantations I have ever been to. The coffee grows inside a native forest full of old native trees, spice plants, shrubs and wildlife. Negussie does not apply any mineral fertilisers or agrochemicals to his farm and weed control is done manually. Still the trees are healthy and producing well which is most likely due to the healthy forest soils that are rich in soil biology that provide the trees with nutrients. I personally believe that these coffees are so complex, full of flavour and easy to extract not only because of the cultivar that are grown but because they grow slowly under shade trees in very healthy soils in their native environment. (After all the arabica coffee trees are native to the forests of Kaffa. )
Of course the natural process also contributes with extra fruity flavours and as you may know I am normally not the biggest fan of natural processed coffees. This is because they are really difficult to produce well, especially in regions that have rain showers during the harvest.
I often find that natural processed coffees have overpowering «funky» flavours of fermented fruit due to uncontrolled fermentation during drying. However, I do like very clean and precise natural processed coffees and when done well with the right cultivars they can taste very juicy and fruity in a refreshing way. The coffees from Tatmara is a good example of a natural processed coffee that I really like. Negussie has been trained by the Belco team on how to process and dry the coffees and the results is a really clean and tasty natural processed coffee with ripe flavours of tropical fruits and strawberries.
The coffees from the 2022/23 harvest have a much more subtle “natural processed” flavour profile than the previous harvests we have bought. I find them to be a bit more elegant but still with plenty of fruitiness in the cup.
Negussie has mainly planted two different cultivars named 74110 and 74112 on his farm that he separates when picking and processing his coffees.
Both cultivars are selections made by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) and although they have very similar qualities, there are some subtle nuances in the flavour profile.
The two cultivars begin with the number “74” that indicates their cataloging and selection in 1974.
The 74110 cultivar was selected from an original “mother tree” in the Bishari village of the Metu Province in the Illuababora zone. After research in their field laboratory (coffee farm) in Jimma, the JARC researchers found the cultivar to be resistant to coffee berry disease and to have a high yield potential. JARC released the cultivar in 1979 as a new and improved cultivar and since then it has become one of the most popular cultivars in Ethiopia known for its floral and citric flavour profile.
Cultivar 74112 also originates in the Metu-Bishari forest and was similarly released in 1979 for its resistance to coffee berry disease and high yield potential. Like the 74110 it is also among the most commonly planted cultivar in Ethiopia today, especially on recently established farms in the southern, southwestern and western coffee-growing parts of Ethiopia.
(Source: “A Reference Guide to Ethiopian Coffee Varieties” by Getu Bekele and Timothy Hill. G Broad Trading PLC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia / Counter Culture Coffee, Durham, NC, USA, 2018.)
TATMARA PRODUCTION PROCESS
Picking
Ripe coffee cherries are hand picked by local pickers and delivered to the farm in the afternoon.
Sorting & drying
The coffee cherries are placed directly on elevated drying tables where they get dried in a thin layer. The cherries are constantly moved the first days to make sure they do not over ferment. All over-ripe and slightly under-ripe cherries are removed by hand during drying to ensure only the fully ripe coffee cherries are dried together. During daytime the coffees are raked to ensure even drying and to prevent undesired fermentation from occurring. The drying process takes about 10 – 20 days depending on the climate and is finished when the moisture content in the coffee beans is between 10-12%.
Cleaning & packaging
Once the cherries are finished drying, they are de-hulled before the coffee beans are transported to the mill where they get cleaned and sorted before packaging for export. The coffee was packed, exported and stored in jute bags with a grain pro bag liner.
FILTER
We strongly recommend using the correct measurements and brewing techniques when you brew our coffees. Use a digital scale both to measure water and coffee in order to get consistent results, and we recommend using between 60 to 70 grams of coffee per litre (1000g) of water, depending on the brewing method, water quality and coffee used.
ESPRESSO
We strongly recommend using VST filter baskets. Both the 18g, 20g and the 22g basket is great for our coffee. The VST filters makes it a lot easier to extract the espresso properly which gives a lot more sweetness in the cup. They are also more or less identical to each other which makes it easy to be more consistent when brewing on several groups at the same time. You can buy the filters on our webshop, just make sure they fit your machine (ours fits all La Marzocco machines and machines with 58mm filter baskets). With the VST 18g filter basket, we recommend the following brewing parameters: 18-19g freshly-ground coffee, 25-35s brewing time, 42-45g of final brew liquid in the cup, 93°C-94°C brew water temperature.
Transparency
We met Negussie through the French import company Belco and have visited his farm several times since then together with the Belco team. It is our third year buying coffee from Negussie and although it has been challenging we have had great support from Belco who have been assisting both Negussie with knowledge and quality control as well as helping us with logistics, milling and communication.
We are currently paying USD 5,00 per lb F.O.B. for the green coffee to Negussie and milling and transportation inside Ethiopia was paid by him as he is a coffee exporter.
Belco added their margin to cover their expenses for helping us move the coffees and communicating and organising logistics with Negussie and assisting him during harvest.
READ MORE ABOUT TRANSPARENCY
See the farm on Google Maps
Brewing Guides
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