BURSA

Bursa comes from the Bensa district of Sidama, a high and forested corner of southern Ethiopia. Here hundreds of smallholders tend heirloom trees on tiny garden plots between roughly 1950 and 2300 metres, delivering ripe cherry to be dried whole as a natural. The thin air, the shade and the slow, careful drying give these Bensa naturals their layered, fruit-forward character, sweet and floral with deep berry tones. This lot is the peaberry, the single round bean separated out for a little extra concentration and intensity in the cup.

Ethiopian heirloom, sometimes written as mixed heirloom, is not a single named variety at all. It is the term used for the thousands of indigenous landrace types that grow across Ethiopia, the birthplace of Arabica coffee. Many of these plants have never been formally catalogued, and have instead been selected and passed down by farming families over countless generations, each one adapted to the exact hillside and altitude where it grows. This deep genetic diversity is a big part of what makes Ethiopian coffee so distinctive, giving cups that are floral and citric with a delicate tea like quality, bright acidity, and layered fruit that can shift from one village to the next.

The natural process is the oldest way of preparing coffee, dating back to the earliest days of the crop in Ethiopia and Yemen. The whole cherry is dried intact, with the skin, pulp, and sticky mucilage all left on the bean, so as the fruit slowly dries it feeds its sugars and aromas straight into the seed. Getting it right takes patience and constant attention, as the cherries have to be turned regularly on raised beds over many days to dry evenly and avoid faults. Done well, the natural process gives coffees their heavy body, deep berry and jam fruit, and big, wine like sweetness.