Kilenso Ethiopia

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Sidama

Producer: Kilenso Mokonissa Cooperative

Altitude: 1800 - 2100 mass

Varietal: Ethiopian Heirloom

Process: Natural, 7-day anaerobic gin-aging

Roaster: Upside Down Coffee

Price: SGD 18 per 150g

Tasting Notes: Strawberry, Juniper, Osmanthus, White Peach

_________Intensity____Quality

Aroma_____ ⚄__________⚃

Generally richly aromatic of peaches and stewed berries, it carries a note of booziness towards the finish that tickles the nose.

Acidity ____ ⚂__________⚂

Hints of juniper come forth with bits of honeydew-like juiciness. However, this acidity is fleeting, and muted in nature.

Sweetness ⚄__________⚃

Pleasant syrupy sweetness of strawberries, accompanied with a distinctive gin-like juniper twang that is felt on the nose as well. Much like quickly evaporating alcohol however, the unique notes do not translate into a luxuriant and full-bodied sweetness.

Body _____ ⚃__________⚃

A slightly lighter body, densely packed with flavor, holds the slightly bitter floral notes that develop towards the finish together with the sweetness without over-emphasizing either.

Finish_____ ⚄__________⚄

Finish develops a piney aftertaste that sits heavy on your tongue with a boozy, perfumed finish that is just a shade of floral bitter, reminding one of notes of white osmanthus petals.

Notes

This is an interesting coffee for its use of the concept of an extra processing of coffee greens. Upside Down Coffee collaborated with Brass Lion Gin Distillery to carry out a 7-day anaerobic gin-aging to impart some of the flavors of the gin into the coffee.

I find that the gin processing intensifies and condenses the typical sweetness of the natural process, and provides a new dimension of positive boozy notes to the coffee profile, and a developing prominence of the bitter of junipers and osmanthus towards the finish. However, it does seem that the same process also serves to dampen the natural acidity of the coffee, yielding a muddled, mild acidity that does not come to the fore in the cup.

The strong characteristics of this coffee makes it more fickle to brewing methods - I have found that a shortened ratio of 1:9 works really well in balancing the strong and lingering pine-like juniper finish with the front-loaded juicy sweetness in the coffee.

Overall ⚃