Bookkisa | Ethiopia

TLDR: another stunner here. Exceptional flavour from an exceptional community. This is just pure joy and deliciousness in your cup. Enjoy it.

 

This coffee brought us great joy when we cupped it. It was one sip in, and we decided to buy some, and you better believe you’ll be seeing this year after year from now. We’ve roasted this coffee with a focus on maintaining the supremely clean character this has for a naturally processed coffee. We’ve kept it light, swift, and if we’ve done it right, you’ll get to experience the full spectrum of crisp florals and jammy fruit sweetness this great coffee has to offer.

From our import partner Osito:
Sookoo Coffee is perhaps the most foundational relationship of Osito's in Ethiopia, which, generally, is one of our greatest countries of focus. We have been working with Sookoo's founder, Ture Waji, since our earliest days of sourcing in Ethiopia. Ture and his brother, Assefa, founded the company (legally, Dambi Uddo Agro Industry) in late 2018/early 2019. In that same harvest, Osito delivered to Dambi Uddo their very first registered purchase contract. Sookoo Coffee is located in Odo Shakiso within the Oromia Region and Guji Zone of Ethiopia and produces both naturally processed and washed coffees with cherry sourced from the surrounding kebeles. Lots are typically named for the kebele from which the cherry comes (e.g. Shoondhisa or Bookkisa).

 

Most of the cherry being delivered are one of two varieties; Gibirinna 74110 and Serto 74112. Both of these are from the Metu Bishari selections made in the forest of the same name in the Illubabor Zone by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) in 1974. They were selected for their resistance to Coffee Berry Disease (CBD {no, not THAT CBD...}). Now, they are some of the most propagated varieties in Ethiopia.

 

The cherries are all dried at a centralized location on raised beds at an elevation of 2173 masl for around 15-20 days in very thin layers. They are moved and rotated frequently to ensure even and precise drying. The net results of all the effort are some of the most vibrant and pristinely clean coffees we buy. Unlike many naturals, they present with high florality and acid with very little booziness. They are often described as "Ethiopia first, natural processing second."

We prefer our filter brews from a v60, but we won’t judge for use of anything at all to make yourself a coffee - even a (clean) sock.

 

Our recommended ratio when brewing filter coffee is 60g of coffee per litre of water. Simply scale this down, or up, for your desired size of brew.

 

With all methods, you’ll want: a grind size similar to granulated sugar, boiling water, and about 3 minutes of brewing time. This goes for v60, aeropress, plunger, and the (still hopefully clean) sock.

 

Our favourite recipe for v60:

• 20g of medium to coarsely ground coffee, it’ll feel a little like granulated sugar.
• Set your kettle to boil, and ready your socks to be rocked.
• We use a 60g bloom, with a swirl of the slurry to make sure it’s all wet. You can stir of that’s easier, just don’t rip the paper!
• After that, when your timer is at 45 seconds, add more water to a total of 200g, and swirl gently.
• Then finally at 1:15 on your timer, add the rest of your water, to 330g, and do one last little swirl.
• Wait till it drains through, roughly 3:30 is a good time, pour into your favourite mug, and let those socks be rocked.

 

If you’d like more info or tips, get in touch! hello@coreroasters.cc