A Taste of Ethiopia.

Recently, my friend told me about a wonderful dining experience she had at Tiffin's. This is a new restaurant in Disney's Animal Kingdom.  The part of her meal that perked my interest was how she went on about the delicious Ethiopian coffee. I have never had a cup as far as I knew; now I want it!

On our last trip to Starbucks, my husband and I saw a small bag of beans by the register. I noticed it because it was different from the others, not just smaller. It was Ethiopia Yirgacheffee™ Chelba Small-Lot Coffee. When I saw that the half pound bag was $17.50, I looked away. Too rich for my blood! But my darling husband picked it up and said, "buy it, anything for the blog!"  My honey is a keeper!

Ethiopia just happens to be where all this coffee craziness began. The coffee plant was discovered in the 11th century in Ethiopia The plant has a white blossom that smells like jasmine and a red, cherry-like fruit. Back then the leaves were boiled and thought to have medicinal properties. Coffee did not reach Europe and America until the 1600's, but thank God it finally arrived!

I could not wait to get my hands on this bag of java gold and take it home to brew! After dinner we did just that. Upon opening the bag, the aroma of a rich brew mixed with cherries and a touch of lavender filled my senses. I have never smelled beans quite like these. I carefully ground the beans and boiled fresh water adding both to my French press.

I poured that first cup of Ethiopian gold into a delicate bone china cup. A coffee this special deserved a very special cup. After I poured in a touch of cream, the visual of the cup brought me back to my very first coffee drinking days in my grandmother's kitchen in Brooklyn. Ahh, but now to tasting the brew. I slowly sipped and my mouth was filled with a slightly sweet aromatic flavor.  But was it coffee? It absolutely smelled like a marvelous cup of coffee. As it lingered in my mouth, the rich flavor of java developed and mingled with the aromatics of cherries and ended with a chase of lavender!

This was quite the cup of coffee. I enjoyed it immensely;  but would I want to drink it every day?
The answer to that is no, but for a couple of reasons. For me, the price point is way to high for a my daily jolt of java. Second, as pleasant as the bean was, it is not something I would want every day. I prefer my coffee a little more earthy and a little less fruity. But again, it was a fabulous cup of coffee. I could walk around all day with my nose in this little bag of beans. The aroma is unparalleled.
I will enjoy the rest of this bag in "small lots" just as it was intended by those farmers in Chelba. I look forward to trying more "small lot" coffees in the future as I continue to search for my perfect cup!